The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that reimbursement requests submitted to the E-Rate program administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company can be considered “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). E-Rate program participants supporting school and library connectivity can be sued for excess payouts under the FCA because the E-Rate subsidy’s funds are provided through the U.S. treasury. The ruling allows a lawsuit by school district auditor Todd Health against provider Wisconsin Bell to go forward. Wisconsin Bell had challenged a Seventh Circuit decision that allowed the school district auditor to proceed with FCA claims alleging that the company was recouping more money than it should have from the E-Rate program by overcharging schools and libraries. Wisconsin Bell asserted that because E-Rate funds are collected from fees on the private sector, they are not subject to FCA claims.