The U.S. government spent about $ 2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven’t proved they are eligible to receive them.
The Lifeline program â€" begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren’t cut off from jobs, families and emergency services â€" is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every landline and wireless-phone customer. Payouts under the program have shot up from $ 819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have persuaded regulators to let them offer the service.
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