CBO Scores Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act

The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017 (S. 96) would require certain providers of voice communication services to register with the Federal Communications Commission. It also would require the agency to issue rules establishing service quality standards for those providers. CBO assumes that S. 96 will be enacted in the first half of fiscal year 2017.

On the basis of an analysis of information from the FCC, CBO estimates that implementing S. 96 would cost $4 million over the 2017-2022 period for the agency to establish and operate the registry of voice communication service providers and to promulgate rules establishing service quality standards. However, the FCC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset the costs of its regulatory activities each year. Therefore, CBO estimates that the net cost to implement S. 96 would be negligible, assuming annual appropriation actions consistent the agency’s authorities. Enacting S. 96 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting S. 96 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 96 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.