I disagree with your assertion that Congress is "continuing to delegate that authority". They delegated it. Past tense. It's gone. Unless they take it back, it remains gone. There is no continual reliance on Congress to continue delegating their authority. As such, I stand by my statement that there is no reliance on Congress at all. If Congress disappeared tomorrow, the FCC could continue its operation, which wouldn't be possible if there was a reliance on Congress.
You would have a point if and only if Congress was unable to take back that delegated authority.
If Congress made a territory into its own independent sovereign nation, that would be something along the lines of what you're talking about.
But that is not how the FCC is operating. The FCC operates within the United States of America according to US law, at the continued pleasure of Congress.
Revoke those laws, and the FCC has no authority to tell any US citizen or organization to do anything.
You know how the Constitution is the supreme law of the land? It defines Congress, and the Presidency, and the Supreme Court. It does not define the FCC. The FCC exists because Congress created it, and it operates independently only because Congress allows it. If Congress doesn't like the job the FCC is doing, the FCC will comply or be dissolved.
If Congress disappears ... so does the authority of the FCC.
After all, the same is true for everyone in the country, yet we wouldn't consider Congress to be our boss, even though we'd agree that the laws have authority over us.
Do you not know American History? That's because we're Congress's boss.
When we vote someone into office, the results of the vote are not a polite suggestion. The institution has been corrupted over time, but this is basic civics.
In terms of who I would say that the FCC is answerable to, I'd suggest it's to the laws establishing its mandate, the laws expanding its powers, and the courts who interpret those laws.
You left out an important and extremely relevant entity in that list - the group of people who write and repeal the laws establishing mandates and powers. Some might call those "lawmakers". In the US, that body is called "Congress".
I dunno...does that explain my stance a bit better? Again, I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
You can be wrong if you want, but it's not a matter of subjective opinion.
Either the FCC answers to Congress, or it does not. The truth of the matter is obvious - what happens if the FCC tells Congress to take a hike because "hissy fit"?