The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the FCC’s Universal Service Fund system, which ultimately collects “fees” from consumers, in a 9-7 en banc ruling, as unconstitutional stating that the multiple delegations from Congress to USAC are unlawful and violate Article I, § 1 of the Constitution. A panel for the Fifth Circuit had initially upheld the USF system before it granted a request for hearing the case en banc and vacated the initial decision. This ruling creates a significant circuit split as the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have upheld the USF program system.
