§  54.409   Consumer qualification for Lifeline.

   (a) To constitute a qualifying low-income consumer:

   (1) A consumer's household income as defined in §  54.400(f) must be at
   or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a household of that
   size; or

   (2) The consumer, one or more of the consumer's dependents, or the
   consumer's household must receive benefits from one of the following
   federal assistance programs: Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition
   Assistance Program; Supplemental Security Income; Federal Public
   Housing Assistance (Section 8); Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
   Program; National School Lunch Program's free lunch program; or
   Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; or

   (3) The consumer meets additional eligibility criteria established by a
   state for its residents, provided that such-state specific criteria are
   based solely on income or other factors directly related to income.

   (b) A consumer who lives on Tribal lands is eligible for Lifeline
   service as a “qualifying low-income consumer” as defined by §  54.400(a)
   and as an “eligible resident of Tribal lands” as defined by §  54.400(e)
   if that consumer meets the qualifications for Lifeline specified in
   paragraph (a) of this section or if the consumer, one or more of the
   consumer's dependents, or the consumer's household participates in one
   of the following Tribal-specific federal assistance programs: Bureau of
   Indian Affairs general assistance; Tribally administered Temporary
   Assistance for Needy Families; Head Start (only those households
   meeting its income qualifying standard); or the Food Distribution
   Program on Indian Reservations.

   (c) In addition to meeting the qualifications provided in paragraph (a)
   or (b) of this section, in order to constitute a qualifying low-income
   consumer, a consumer must not already be receiving a Lifeline service,
   and there must not be anyone else in the subscriber's household
   subscribed to a Lifeline service.

   [ 77 FR 12970 , Mar. 2, 2012, as amended at  77 FR 38534 , June 28, 2012]

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