SHLB Coalition Defends Universal Service Fund in Fifth Circuit Oral Arguments

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 5, 2026) – Counsel for the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition argued today before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in defense of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) against a renewed legal challenge brought by Consumers' Research.

In this latest case Consumers' Research, Et Al., Petitioners v. Federal Communications Commission, Et Al. (No. 25-60535), Consumers’ Research argues that Sections 254(c)(3) and 254(h)(2) of the Communications Act violate the nondelegation doctrine, among other claims. SHLB and its fellow intervenors argue that the challenge fails because the statutory provisions at issue contain the same kinds of constraints the Supreme Court already upheld, including the requirement that the FCC's support mechanisms be “sufficient” and "economically reasonable."

“The stakes for schools, libraries, and health clinics could not be higher,” said Joey Wender, Executive Director of the SHLB Coalition, who was in the courtroom in New Orleans today to watch oral arguments. "Last year, the Supreme Court delivered us a historic victory in SHLB v. Consumers’ Research when the Court confirmed that the Universal Service Fund, a bipartisan program with a three-decade-long record of connecting communities across rural and urban America, is constitutional. Today we made sure the Fifth Circuit heard from the anchor institutions and the people who depend on this funding to serve their communities. Without the E-Rate and Rural Health Care Programs, communities across the country would suffer from a loss of essential federal funding to pay for internet access."

“Today, we explained to the Court how Congress provided the FCC significant guidance as to the E-Rate and Rural Health Care programs, just as the Supreme Court concluded last year as to the overall Universal Service Fund,” said Jason Neal of HWG LLP, who delivered the argument for the SHLB Coalition. “And as the Supreme Court explained in ruling for SHLB Coalition and the government, the FCC has operated within Congress’s directions in establishing each of the programs in the Fund.”

Today's oral arguments follow SHLB and its partners' historic win last year in the Supreme Court in SHLB v. Consumers' Research (combined with FCC v. Consumers' Research), in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the USF and concluded that "Congress made clear the parameters of the programs, and the FCC has operated within them."

The USF programs at the center of this case support broadband connectivity for 106,000 schools, more than 12,500 libraries, and over 16,000 rural health care providers through the E-Rate and Rural Health Care programs.

SHLB filed its intervenor brief jointly with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and MediaJustice.

Listen to the full argument (once posted) on the Fifth Circuit's oral argument recordings page.

Media Availability
Joey Wender is available for interviews. For more information, visit www.shlb.org or follow @SHLBcoalition on LinkedIn, Facebook or X.

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About SHLB: The SHLB Coalition is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) advocacy organization that supports open, affordable, high-quality broadband connections for anchor institutions and their surrounding communities. The SHLB Coalition is based in Washington, D.C., and has a diverse membership of commercial and non-commercial organizations across the United States. To learn more, visit www.shlb.org.

Media Contact
Samyukta Dinesh - Marketing and Communications Manager, SHLB Coalition