A Democratic senator is calling for the expansion of phone subsidies for low-income Americans to include broadband internet service to help veterans.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Tom Wheeler and Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald to urge them to work to expand veteran access to the program Lifeline. The program, he said, could best serve veterans if it was expanded to include subsidies for broadband service.

“Veterans can use the Lifeline Program discount to improve access to the technology that will allow them to contact VA for benefits or medical appointments, or to communicate with potential employers or housing providers,” Blumenthal wrote. “The proposal to expand the Lifeline program to broadband would help veterans access affordable quality healthcare services.”

Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. “It is our duty to ensure that veterans with limited or no income are accessing each and every resource they may be eligible for,” he said.

The program currently provides small subsidies to low-income Americans for mobile or landline phone service. Critics say the program already is vulnerable to fraud while supporters of the proposal say expanding the program would help poor Americans with a vital resource in the current information age.