In this economy, life as a working mom and caregiver for my grandma makes me feel like a magician. I pull rabbits out of my hat constantly. Every day, I somehow make a dollar out of 15 cents. Whether it’s the car payment, utilities, childcare, or rent, the economy does a great disappearing act with my income. A new program to lower the cost of my monthly internet, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has helped my daily magic show. It’s why I’m surprised to hear politicians in Washington are talking about letting it vanish in April. Congress needs to work together to save the program. Our politicians should be in the business of lowering costs and raising incomes for everyday Americans and parents just like me. That’s their job. It’s why we sent them to Washington. It baffles me how those in Washington, who’ve never felt the terror on payday of looking at your bank account and knowing your paycheck won’t cover the bills that month, could even think of not funding the ACP.

The Federal Courts are full of cases that are challenging the authority of federal regulatory agencies, including the case of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, which is pending before the Supreme Court as of January 2024. Hedge fund manager George Jarkesy was accused of committing fraud by misrepresenting himself to investors. The case was heard by an administrative law judge at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who imposed a fine and penalties, and ordered Jarkesy to disgorge $685,000 in unlawful profits. Jarkesy appealed the case to a federal court, and argued that he was denied his Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed, and ruled that the case should have been heard in court rather than at a federal agency. Historically, US courts have been known shuttle technical issues to specialist judges at federal agencies when it makes sense. The agency administrative judges are likely more knowledgable about the technical issues at hand, and the practice keeps the federal court system from getting too clogged. If the Supreme Court upholds the Fifth Circuit Court's ruling, federal agencies may lose the ability to impose fines, and the federal court system will likely become more overloaded than it already is.