On July 24, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled to strike down the Universal Service Fund (USF), calling the rural and low-income broadband subsidy “unconstitutional.”

The ruling breaks with decisions from the Sixth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits, setting up a potential clash at the Supreme Court.

The following statement can be attributed to David B. Dorwart, Chairman of the National Lifeline Association (NaLA):

“The National Lifeline Association (NaLA) is deeply disappointed by today’s decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court regarding the Universal Service Fund (USF). Funded by USF, the Lifeline program – as its name suggests – is a literal lifeline for millions of low-income Americans to connect to work, school, telehealth, community and digital life. The potential loss of this program, coupled with the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program earlier this year, means that there could soon be zero federal support to connect low-income families to broadband. This is unacceptable and will set back millions of Americans financially more than we can even fathom.

We hope that the Supreme Court of the United States will reverse this decision during its next term. But in the nearer term, we hope that this decision serves as a catalyst for the bipartisan, bicameral USF Working Group to complete its work and pass USF reform legislation in this Congress.”