President Joe Biden’s $6 trillion budget includes substantial increases for the FCC. The Commission says its vision “is to develop a regulatory environment to encourage the private sector to build, maintain, and upgrade next-generation networks so that the benefits of advanced communications services are available to all Americans.”
The FCC has asked for $387,950,000, a 3.7 percent increase, representing $13,950,000 over FY2021. The appropriated level for the current fiscal year is $374,000,000.
The Commission requests $128,621,000 in budget authority for the spectrum auctions program. This request represents a net decrease of $5,874,000 or -4.4 percent from the FY 2021 appropriated level of $134,495,000. To date, the Commission says spectrum auctions have generated over $210.5 billion for government use; at the same time, the total cost of the auctions program has been less than $2.2 billion or 1.1 percent of the total auctions’ revenue.
The agency wants to hire more people. It seeks 1,550 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) funded by budget authority from regulatory fee offsetting collections, spectrum auctions program, and other budget authorities provided by the President and Congress. This FTE level is an increase of 78 from the FY 2021 enacted level of 1,472. With more people, the Commission says it will meet its increased mission demands in FY 2022.
COVID put a spotlight on broadband gaps. In response, the FCC says, “the agency should advance access to communications that are essential for Americans to work remotely, learn remotely, receive healthcare, and engage in commerce. To this end, the FCC will pursue policies to help bring affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband to 100 percent of the country.”
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