Lawmakers, Past FCC Leaders Urge Supreme Court to Uphold USF

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 – A bipartisan group of nearly 30 lawmakers from both chambers of Congress urged the Supreme Court to uphold the Universal Service Fund last week.

“The Fifth Circuit’s wholesale dismantling of the Universal Service Fund would have disastrous consequences for millions of Americans that have come to rely on this assistance,” the lawmakers, led by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., wrote in a Jan. 16 amicus brief. “And as Members of Congress, amici have seen the immense benefits that these programs have provided in the communities we represent—especially for those in low-income and rural areas who depend on this support as their only means of connecting to the Internet or maintaining phone service.”

The $8.1 billion USF, a subsidy program run by the Federal Communications Commission, buoys programs supporting rural broadband networks and internet discounts for low-income households, schools and libraries, and healthcare centers. It has been funded since the 1990s by fees on interstate voice revenue, which get calculated and collected by the Universal Service Administrative Company, a nonprofit the FCC set up for the purpose.