Following oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Consumer’s Research v. FCC on the constitutionality of the FCC’s 2024 Universal Service Fund (USF) rate setting and USF collection program, Consumers’ Research and 14 individual petitioners filed a new Petition for Review with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit). The new Petition for Review challenged the FCC’s March 2025 approval of the $9 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) 2025 contribution factor. This second petition addressed identical issues previously addressed in the 2024 petition to the Fifth Circuit.
The new petition used almost the exact same language to argue that the FCC unconstitutionally delegated to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) the authority to set the USF contribution rate and collect $9 billion in fees. Both petitions were filed with the Fifth Circuit, which had on July 24, 2024, ruled 9-7 in the Petitioners’ favor. The 2025 petition differed from the 2024 petition by adding new petitioners and expanding the scope of requested relief.
