S. 3954

Summary

S. 3954, the No Lifeline for Dead People Act, was introduced in the Senate on Feb 26, 2026 by Sen. Joni Ernst (R) with 1 co-sponsor. It was referred to Commerce, Science, And Transportation, and last saw action on Feb 26, 2026: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Record

Text

S. 3954 has 1 co-sponsor.

119 S3954 IS: No Lifeline for Dead People Act
 U.S. Senate
 2026-02-26
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 3954  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   February 26, 2026   Ms. Ernst  introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation    A BILL
To terminate the ability of eligible telecommunications carriers in certain States to use State eligibility determination processes in place of the National Verifier to determine the eligibility of consumers for Lifeline service.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   No Lifeline for Dead People Act  .
2.
Mandatory use of National Verifier to determine Lifeline eligibility
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Eligible telecommunications carrier
The term  eligible telecommunications carrier  means a common carrier designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier under section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 214(e) ).
(2)
Lifeline service
The term  Lifeline service  means voice telephony service or broadband internet access service provided under the program set forth in subpart E of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(3)
National Verifier
The term  National Verifier  has the meaning given the term in section 54.400 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(b)
Mandatory use of National Verifier
An eligible telecommunications carrier may not provide Lifeline service to a consumer unless the carrier has used the National Verifier to verify the eligibility of the consumer for Lifeline service.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

A bill to terminate the ability of eligible telecommunications carriers in certain States to use State eligibility determination processes in place of the National Verifier to determine the eligibility of consumers for Lifeline service.

Sponsors

Sen. Joni Ernst (R) sponsors S. 3954, and 1 member has co-sponsored it.

Joni Ernst

Sen. · R–IA · Sponsor

Introduced Feb 26, 2026

Jeanne Shaheen

Sen. · D–NH · Co-sponsor

Joined Jun 3, 2026

Show 2 of 2 rows

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Committees

S. 3954 went before 1 committee: Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Referred To · Feb 26, 2026 · 458 Bills

Actions

S. 3954 has taken 2 actions since Feb 26, 2026.

Votes

S. 3954 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

S. 3954 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

• No Lifeline for Dead People Act — Display Title
• No Lifeline for Dead People Act — Short Title(s) as Introduced
• A bill to terminate the ability of eligible telecommunications carriers in certain States to use State eligibility determination processes in place of the National Verifier to determine the eligibility of consumers for Lifeline service. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

3 clients hired 3 firms and 9 registered lobbyists who named S. 3954 in 4 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Taxation/Internal Revenue Code, Energy/Nuclear, Telecommunications, Agriculture, Budget/Appropriations, Clean Air and Water (quality), Natural Resources, Trade (domestic/foreign).

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files S. 3954 under Science, Technology, Communications, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; S. 3954’s is Science, Technology, Communications.

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com