The FCC runs the fund but it was established after Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
The FCC levies the fees from telecoms and the companies pass those fees on to consumers.
There is no clear boundary for the FCCs ability to set the amount to be raised, McCotter said.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday on a Texas law seeking to force porn websites to verify visitors' ages.© Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett balked at the idea.
And that makes the position seem…what exactly are you trying to accomplish?
That just seems a little bit hollow, Barrett said.
Kind of seems like a meaningless exercise.
This is just a straight-up tax without any numerical limit, any cap, any rate.
And weve never had something like that before, Judge Neil Gorscuh said.
Im not saying taxes are special.
Its not a fee related to costs, and its not rate setting of a monopolist.
Most of the judges worried about what the consequences of ending the program might be.
Those consequences are very real.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked towards the end of the proceeding.
The arguments for this case are concluded and the judges are expected to issue a ruling sometime in June.
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