Description:
H.R. 2583 would make a number of changes to procedures that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) follows in its rulemaking processes. The bill also would require the FCC to create a public database of information about complaints made by consumers of telecommunications services. Finally, the bill would exempt the Universal Service Fund (USF) from provisions of the Antideficiency Act through December 31, 2020.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2583 would change the timing of spending from the USF, which would affect direct spending over the 2016-2025 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. We estimate, however, that the timing changes would net to zero over the ten-year period. Enacting H.R. 2583 would not affect revenues.
Further, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2583 to amend the FCC’s operating procedures would cost $10 million over the next five years; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Under current law, the FCC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset the cost of its regulatory activities each year. Therefore, CBO estimates that the net cost to implement those provisions of H.R. 2583 would not be significant, assuming annual appropriation actions consistent with the agency’s authorities.
H.R. 2583 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.
If the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the costs of implementing its additional regulatory activities, the bill would impose a private-sector mandate on some commercial entities regulated by the FCC. Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would be small, and fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for p
