House Panel Expands Probe of School Net Access Program

Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-La.) has stepped up a congressional investigation of contracts obtained by SBC Communications Inc., IBM Corp. and others to wire the nation’s schools for the Internet.

Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.) sent letters to 15 companies asking, among other things, whether they essentially had helped schools rig the system so they could wring more benefits from the so-called E-Rate program.

Tauzin’s letter doesn’t directly allege any wrongdoing by the companies. But it asks for more information from firms “having significant involvement in the E-Rate program” to assist the review being conducted by Greenwood’s oversight and investigations subcommittee.

Established by Congress in 1996, E-Rate provides up to $2.25 billion in annual discounts to schools and libraries installing telecommunications equipment. The program, which is administered by the private Universal Service Administrative Co., has been both praised for bringing schools into the digital age and panned for lax oversight.