Description:
H.R. 1370 would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a council to make recommendations on the security, reliability, and interoperability of communications networks. Currently, the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) fulfills those duties. The CSRIC is typically rechartered every two years, most recently in June 2021. Using information from the FCC, CBO estimates that it would cost the agency $2 million over the 2024-2028 period to administer the CSRIC. However, because the FCC is authorized to collect fees each year sufficient to offset the appropriated costs of its regulatory activities, CBO estimates that the net cost to the FCC would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority. H.R. 1370 would authorize the FCC to appoint members to the committee, including representatives from federal agencies. Past iterations of the CSRIC have included representatives from the Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, and Health and Human Services. CBO cannot predict the future composition of the CSRIC, but CBO estimates that those agencies’ participation in the council would increase spending subject to appropriation by an insignificant amount. If the FCC increased fees to offset the costs associated with implementing the bill, H.R. 1370 would increase the cost of an existing mandate on private entities required to pay those fees. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of that mandate would be small and fall below the annual threshold established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) for private-sector mandates ($198 million in 2023, adjusted annually for inflation). H.R. 1370 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.
