Fifth Circuit Questions Universal Service Fund’s Administration

The Federal Communications Commission faced several questions during en banc arguments before the Fifth Circuit Tuesday about the wisdom of a broadband access subsidy scheme that has been challenged as a violation of separation of powers.

“The fact there are MOUs in contracts with private companies doesn’t say that you could put a tax on every American cell phone bill,” one judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said while asking the FCC for a case that supports an executive agency delegating authority to a private entity.

Consumers’ Research and the FCC differ on whether Section ...