Whether 47 U.S.C. § 254 violates the nondelegation doctrine

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioners challenge the unprecedented revenueraising mechanism for the Universal Service Fund, a nationwide social program aimed at expanding telecommunications services. Rather than appropriating funds, Congress has authorized the Federal Communications Commission to levy taxes for the USF without any statutory cap or formula, guided only by a list of “aspirational” principles. Congress even authorized the FCC to redefine “universal service” altogether and raise funds for that expanded scope. To top it off, the FCC then redelegated operation of the USF to a private company run by self-described industry “interest groups.” With no meaningful limits or accountability, the USF has ballooned, with Americans now paying nearly $10 billion every year—25 times the FCC’s annual budget. The Sixth Circuit upheld this unique scheme below, but the Fifth Circuit recently granted en banc rehearing in a parallel suit, portending a split. The questions presented are: (1) Whether 47 U.S.C. § 254 violates the nondelegation doctrine by imposing no limit on the FCC’s power to raise revenue for the USF. (2) Whether the FCC violated the private nondelegation doctrine by transferring its revenueraising power to a private company run by industry interest groups.