Supreme Court Upholds Universal Service Program!
June 27, 2025
Today, the U. S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the universal service program. Specifically, their decision holds that neither Congress’s delegation of power to the FCC or the FCC’s delegation of power to the private corporation (USAC) violated a theory known as the nondelegation doctrine. Hurray!
Justice Kagan wrote for the majority: “Under our nondelegation precedents, Congress sufficiently guided and constrained the discretion that it lodged with the FCC to implement the universal-service contribution scheme. And the FCC, in turn, has retained all decision-making authority within that sphere, relying on the” corporation “only for nonbinding advice. Nothing in those arrangements, either separately or together, violates the Constitution.”
The full decision is available at: 24-354_0861.pdf.
The vote was 6-3, with Justices Kagan, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett and Jackson voting with the majority, and Justices Gorsuch, Thomas and Alito dissenting.
Webinar to Explain Supreme Court Decision
On Monday, July 7, the SHLB Coalition & the American Library Association are holding a free webinar to unpack the Supreme Court’s landmark decision. In this webinar, leading legal experts Andy Schwartzman and Jason Neal will break down the implications of the ruling, what it means for the future of broadband connectivity for schools, libraries, health centers, and the communities they serve. I’ll be joining and I hope you will, too.
Monday, July 7, 2025
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM (EDT)
Registration: webinar-understanding-the-scotus-usf-decision
For a history of the court challenge and what brought it to the U.S. Supreme Court, see my listserve message from 3/25/2025: https://e-ratepa.org/?p=35922.
Have a wonderful July 4th holiday, E-raters!
— Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org