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Don’t Hang Up on My Family’s Lifeline

Telephone Call
By Christian Kadluba via Wikimedia Creative Commons

By Monica Thammarath, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance

When I moved from San Diego to DC to advocate for worker and immigrant rights, I knew I would be leaving behind my parents and grandparents. Despite the distance, I felt confident that our connection would remain strong as we regularly spoke on the phone to hear about each other’s lives. The FCC’s proposed changes to Lifeline, the low-cost phone and internet service we use, would hurt my ability to stay connected to my family – and would do the same for the 1.1 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who depend on it to stay connected to their loved ones far away.

Created during the Reagan administration, Lifeline is a federal program that subsidizes phone and internet connections for people with lower incomes. It is the most comprehensive program of its kind, and it plays an indispensable role in keeping millions of people connected who would otherwise be unable to afford phone and internet service.  

Lifeline is particularly crucial for immigrants like my grandparents who encounter language barriers, have difficulty navigating America’s daunting systems and often need help translating important conversations. My grandparents arrived in the United States as refugees from Laos in 1980 and worked hard for more than 30 years in factories and sweatshops, so that we would have a better life than the one they fled. Because of all the sacrifices they made for us, I have become eager to play my part and assist them as they grow older.

For the past 10 years, Lifeline has made it possible for me to continue to help my grandparents – and now my parents – with the basics they need to lead stable, independent lives while I live and work across the country in DC. I call and make doctors’ appointments, answer their banking or financial questions and help manage their utility bills. And if – heaven forbid – there is ever an emergency, I have peace of mind knowing that I can be there for my family even from 4,000 miles away.

I also simply look forward to our weekly phone conversations, exchanging stories about our daily lives and sharing our hopes and dreams for what will come next. While we don’t live close to each other, our regular calls motivate me to work hard for the things I believe in – and they bring great joy to my grandparents who once dreamed of the life I am now living.

Yet the FCC is seeking to undermine the Lifeline program that keeps families like mine connected. They have proposed lifetime caps on Lifeline use, which will undoubtedly hurt senior citizens like my grandparents – and directly compromise their health and safety.

Additionally, reducing services that make the program easier to use, such as support for voice messages, will harm people like my Grandma who didn’t have the chance to learn how to read and write in any language. And placing caps on the number of people who are able to use Lifeline will give a government employee with no connection to our family the arbitrary power to determine who deserves to use the program and who doesn’t.

The FCC’s proposed cuts are cruel and unnecessary and would make life worse for the 11 million people who rely on its services across the country. We must continue to oppose the FCC’s choice to upend connectivity for the hundreds of thousands of immigrant families who rely on Lifeline to live successful and happy lives – and connect to the ones we love most.

Monica Thammarath is the national president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA).

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