The Supreme Court is stepping into a legal battle involving the $8 billion yearly federal spending to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries, and rural areas, challenging the Universal Service Fund collected by the Federal Communications Commission.
Driving the news: A conservative advocacy group, Consumer Research, contested the funding structure, leading to an appellate court ruling that deemed the funding method as unconstitutional.
- The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 9-7 against the funding model.
- The Biden administration has appealed the ruling, but the case is not expected to be argued until late March, by which time the Trump administration will be in place, raising questions on how they may approach the issue.
- The 5th Circuit held the funding method unconstitutional due to Congress granting excessive authority to the FCC, which then delegated too much power to a private entity, breaching constitutional limitations.
- This case presents a test of federal regulatory power, with the potential implications discussed in the context of the history of the non-delegation doctrine, last invoked in 1935, where some conservative justices may consider reviving this legal doctrine.
