# 119-hr-7963: No Lifeline for the Dead Act

119-hr-7963, No Lifeline for the Dead Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7963
- As of: 2026-08-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7963
- Congress: 119
- Title: No Lifeline for the Dead Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-09

## Summary

**Tightening identity checks and narrowing who can get the FCC Lifeline phone subsidy.** This bill would force the Federal Communications Commission to use two national systems to verify eligibility and would limit Lifeline to U.S. citizens or qualified aliens. - Low-income consumers who already get Lifeline would face a recheck within 180 days and could lose service if the national verifier and database find them ineligible. - New applicants must provide a Social Security number or a Tribal identifier as part of their Lifeline application to qualify. - Eligibility would be limited to U.S. citizens and "qualified aliens" as defined in federal law, excluding other immigration statuses. - States and other programs could not opt out of using the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier and the National Lifeline Accountability Database, so state-based checks could not override the federal systems. - The FCC would have 120 days to issue regulations that implement the required use of the national verifier and accountability database.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] (R-TX), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tighter Lifeline rules for low-income households: cost, low. This bill would limit the FCC Lifeline phone subsidy to U.S. citizens and qualified aliens. You would have to give a Social Security number or a Tribal identifier to apply. The FCC would have to use the national Eligibility Verifier and Accountability Database to check eligibility. Those checks mus…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-8516: American Leadership in AI Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-286: Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1041: Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7963 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7963)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-8516: American Leadership in AI Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8516)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-286: Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-286)
- [119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2853)
- [119-hr-1041: Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1041)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7963 (as of 2026-08-09).