Poor Americans are now eligible for federal money to help cover the cost of internet service following the expansion of an existing subsidized cell phone program.

The Federal Communications Commission voted last week to expand the 30-year-old Lifeline program - commonly known as "Obamaphones" - that provides $9.25 a month to cover voice-only phone service. The change limits families to only one subsidy per household, which they can use to pay for home internet, phone or smartphone service or a combination of the three, The Hill reported.

To qualify, people must have incomes at or below federal poverty guidelines.

The government will be responsible for maintaining a single national database to allow phone and internet providers to check an applicant's eligibility.

The Lifeline program, first started by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s to cover the cost of home phone service, currently has about 13 million users, including more than 200,000 in Alabama. According to the Universal Service Administrative Company, which manages Lifeline, as many as 39.7 million households are eligible for the program.

The FCC's budget for the program is $2.25 billion a year with the funds coming from a fee imposed on all customers by phone companies.

Critics of the plan said any expansion will only exacerbate abuses of the program. The new program was approved on a 3-2 vote with the two Republican members casting the dissenting votes.