联邦上诉法院推翻FCC近90亿美元电信补贴基金设立依据 称其越权设立收费公司
据路透社报道，美国联邦第五巡回上诉法院10月15日裁定，联邦通信委员会（FCC）在上世纪90年代末设立电信补贴计划时越权，推翻了这项每年约90亿美元的「普遍服务基金」的设立依据。
该基金通过一家名为普遍服务管理公司（USAC）的私营公司向电信运营商收费，用于补贴农村与低收入地区居民的基础通信服务，也覆盖原住民部落地区，并帮助学校、图书馆与农村医疗机构获得通信服务。裁决由克莱门特法官为三人合议庭撰写，理由是国会从未明确授权FCC设立USAC，该机构此举违反了《政府公司控制法》。
FCC发言人回应称，委员会正在考虑所有可选方案，并指这项针对近30年前决定的命令最早也要两个月后才会生效。基金的费用绝大部分由电信公司转嫁给用户。据报道，2024年该计划惠及750万个低收入家庭，并向电信公司拨付42亿美元用于在偏远农村地区提供高速互联网；学校与图书馆在三年内获得70亿美元，覆盖5400万名学生。
此案与最高法院2025年6月的一项裁决是不同争点：最高法院当时认可了FCC以强制缴费筹资的机制，推翻了第五巡回此前称其构成不当征税的判断；本轮裁决针对的则是USAC这家收费公司的设立权限本身。
Appeals Court Invalidates Basis of FCC's $9 Billion Telecom Subsidy Fund
A U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission exceeded its authority in the late 1990s when it set up the Universal Service Fund, a telecom subsidy program of about $9 billion a year, according to Reuters.
The fund is collected from telecom carriers through a private company, the Universal Service Administrative Co (USAC), and subsidizes basic communications for rural and low-income consumers, tribal lands, schools, libraries and rural health facilities. Writing for a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit, Judge Edith Brown Clement held that Congress never specifically authorized the FCC to establish USAC, so the agency violated the Government Corporation Control Act.
An FCC spokesperson said the commission was considering all options, noting the order would not take effect for at least two months. In 2024 the program benefited 7.5 million low-income households and paid telecom companies $4.2 billion for high-speed internet in hard-to-serve rural areas; schools and libraries received $7 billion over three years for 54 million students.
The ruling raises a different issue from the Supreme Court's June 2025 decision endorsing the FCC's funding mechanism; this time the court targeted the authority to create USAC itself.
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图片来源：位于新奥尔良的美国联邦第五巡回上诉法院大楼（John Minor Wisdom法院大楼）· Ajay Suresh 摄，CC BY 4.0（维基共享资源）
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