Taxation Without Legislation? The FCC’s $10 Billion Question
Can a federal agency raise billions in fees without Congress ever approving the tax? In this episode of Unwritten Law, host Mark Chenoweth is joined by NCLA’s General Counsel Zhonette Brown to unpack Consumers’ Research v. FCC, a Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund.
What began as a program to help rural and low-income Americans access phone service has morphed into a $10 billion-a-year operation—largely run by a private entity (USAC) the FCC created without congressional authorization. Zhonette breaks down the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, the…
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