§  54.1717   Administrator of the Emergency Connectivity Fund.

   (a) The Universal Service Administrative Company is appointed the
   permanent Administrator of the Emergency Connectivity Fund and shall be
   responsible for administering the Emergency Connectivity Fund.

   (b) The Administrator shall be responsible for reviewing applications
   for funding, recommending funding commitments, issuing funding
   commitment decision letters, reviewing invoices and recommending
   payment of funds, as well as other administration-related duties.

   (c) The Administrator may not make policy, interpret unclear provisions
   of statutes or rules, or interpret the intent of Congress. Where
   statutes or the Commission's rules in this subpart are unclear, or do
   not address a particular situation, the Administrator shall seek
   guidance from the Commission.

   (d) The Administrator may advocate positions before the Commission and
   its staff only on administrative matters relating to the Emergency
   Connectivity Fund.

   (e) The Administrator shall create and maintain a website, as defined
   in § 54.5, on which applications for services will be posted on behalf
   of schools and libraries.

   (f) The Administrator shall provide the Commission full access to the
   data collected pursuant to the administration of the Emergency
   Connectivity Fund.

   (g) The administrator shall provide performance measurements pertaining
   to the Emergency Connectivity Fund as requested by the Commission by
   order or otherwise.

   (h) The Commission shall have the authority to audit all entities
   reporting data to the Administrator regarding the Emergency
   Connectivity Fund. When the Commission, the Administrator, or any
   independent auditor hired by the Commission or the Administrator,
   conducts audits of the participants of the Emergency Connectivity Fund,
   such audits shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted
   government auditing standards.

   (i) The Commission shall establish procedures to verify support amounts
   provided by the Emergency Connectivity Fund and may suspend or delay
   support amounts if a party fails to provide adequate verification of
   the support amounts provided upon reasonable request from the
   Administrator.

   (j) The Administrator shall make available to whomever the Commission
   directs, free of charge, any and all intellectual property, including,
   but not limited to, all records and information generated by or
   resulting from its role in administering the support mechanisms, if its
   participation in administering the Emergency Connectivity Fund ends. If
   its participation in administering the Emergency Connectivity Fund
   ends, the Administrator shall be subject to close-out audits at the end
   of its term.