SCOTUS Will Hear Much-Watched USF Case March 26
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday scheduled oral argument for March 26 in the government’s challenge of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 9-7 en banc decision last year that sided with Consumers' Research and found that the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax.” SCOTUS agreed in November to hear what some see as the most consequential FCC case in years (see 2412100060). Members of Congress, former FCC commissioners, ISPs and public interest groups are among those urging SCOTUS to overturn the 5th Circuit decision.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
GM and subsidiary OnStar, meanwhile, supported Consumers’ Research arguments that the FCC should zero out the USF contribution factor (see 2412130016) following the 5th Circuit ruling. In December, the FCC Office of the Managing Director proposed a contribution factor of 36.3% for Q1 2025 (see 2412120061). The FCC should reject the proposed contribution factor “and instead set it at 0.000” because the USF “violates the United States Constitution,” GM said in a filing Monday in docket 96-45.