CBO Scores the E-BRIDGE Act

H.R. 1752, the "E-BRIDGE Act," would authorize the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to award grants for high-speed broadband projects to public-private partnerships and consortiums, and would allow grant recipients to use in-kind donations, such as real property, to meet cost-sharing requirements. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects that those changes would increase the number of broadband projects eligible for EDA funding and accelerate their approval by the agency. Using information from the EDA, CBO estimates that about six additional broadband projects would be eligible in 2024 under the bill, at an average cost of about $1.5 million per project, with the number of projects growing to 15 in 2028. After accounting for anticipated inflation in project costs and the historical lag between the approval of a project and the grants being disbursed, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $43 million over the 2023-2028 period for newly qualifying projects, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts. (In 2022, the EDA approved $65 million in broadband projects.)