CBO Scores FCC Reauthorization Act

The FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S 2644) would authorize appropriations totaling $728 million for the operations of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for 2017 and 2018. Assuming appropriation of those amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2644 would have a gross cost of $705 million over the 2017-2021 period.

CBO estimates that all appropriations to the FCC would be offset by fees authorized to be collected under current law. Assuming that future appropriation acts allow the FCC to continue to collect such fees, CBO estimates that net discretionary spending under S. 2644 would be reduced by $23 million over the 2017-2021 period. Enacting S. 2644 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be negligible over the 2017-2026 period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. S. 2644 contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but CBO estimates that the mandate would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. S. 2644 would impose private-sector mandates, as defined in UMRA. Based on information from industry sources and information about existing state laws, CBO estimates that the aggregate costs of the mandates would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation).