The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a major legal fight over the $8 billion a year the federal government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas, in a new test of federal regulatory power. The justices on Wednesday are reviewing an appellate ruling that struck down as unconstitutional the Universal Service Fund, the tax that has been added to phone bills for nearly 30 years. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Congress has given too much authority to the Federal Communications Commission and the agency in turn has ceded too much power to a private entity. A decision is expected by late June.
