"Obama Phone", a free phone with 250 monthly minutes to those Americans on Food Stamps or Medicaid is proving to have some validity behind it after all.
The Obama Phone is a consequence of a program called Lifeline Assistance, which was established in 1996 by FCC mandate to help low-income people cover the cost of telephone installation. It expanded to include assistance for cell phones in 2008, which is the year Obama got elected as the U.S. President.
Participation in the program has increased since 2008. The program was initially costing $772 million and has increased to $1.6 billion in 2012, according to Catholic Online. There are currently 12.5 million wireless accounts per month.
"An applicant is generally eligible if they are at or below 135-150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (depending upon the state in which they live), or if they already participate in one of many public assistance programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, energy assistance, public housing and others," according to FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net.
Another Obama Phone "Free Phone" website, SafeLinkWireless, is promoting this campaign with a refer a friend incentive. "You can get an additional free 100 minutes if you recommend a friend. . Pay nothing! No bills, no contracts, no credit checks, no hidden fees," an ad reads.
Below is a video of a woman who shares about how she will be voting for Obama in 2012 and is grateful for her "Obama Phone":
