E-Rate: A Pit of Waste, Fraud and Abuse
What do you think happens to a program designed to bring the internet to the neediest schools in the country and provide zero accountability? You guessed, you get a “pit of waste, fraud and abuse“.
There have been bribes, kickbacks, overcharges, faulty equipment, billing for no equipment, and many other abuses. A conservative estimate shows over $200 million dollars in waste and fraud. NEC for instance settled with payments and fines totaling over $20.6 million dollars.
Here are just a few more examples (Emphasis Mine):
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Arlene Ackerman, the San Francisco Independent School District’s superintendent, didn’t like the looks of a $50 million project proposal submitted for her approval shortly after her appointment in 2000. As she delved into the project application—made under a program known as E-Rate—Ackerman began a five-year journey into the sordid maze of a well-intentioned but disastrous effort to provide hard-pressed schools and libraries with access to broadband service. |
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E-Rate Probes Target Texas Vendor (Apr 17 2006) |
Here is what the OMB said in its evaluation:
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In a PART evaluation last updated in January and covering 2005, OMB gave the E-Rate program the following scores: |
