The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai testified before the House Subcommittee on Financial Service and General Government recently on the agency’s FY 2018 proposed budget. To better understand the objectives of the budget, it is critical to understand the purpose of the organization and its overarching goals. The FCC regulates the telephone, radio, and television industries, as well as interstate communications. It is their duty to promote competition in the marketplace, encourage the development of new technologies, and use their authority to protect the communications infrastructure. To save taxpayers money, the budget requests $322 million for the FCC’s bureaus and offices – a 5.2 percent reduction from last year’s level.
FCC’s Budget by Bureau and Offices (Dollar figures in thousands) | ||||||
FY 2016 | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | ||||
FTEs | Actuals | FTEs | Enacted | FTEs | Request | |
Chairman and Commissioners | 23 | $4,270 | 16 | $3,154 | 20 | $4,048 |
Consumer & Government Affairs Bureau | 150 | $24,698 | 135 | $23,456 | 126 | $22,061 |
Enforcement Bureau | 238 | $43,063 | 204 | $39,770 | 189 | $38,609 |
International Bureau | 109 | $19,984 | 98 | $19,043 | 92 | $18,090 |
Media Bureau | 168 | $24,854 | 161 | $24,712 | 149 | $23,132 |
Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau | 103 | $18,800 | 100 | $19,094 | 93 | $17,726 |
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau | 211 | $16,096 | 208 | $19,022 | 192 | $16,235 |
Wireline Competition Bureau | 170 | $31,371 | 167 | $32,068 | 155 | $29,927 |
Office of Administrative Law Judges | 4 | $480 | 4 | $504 | 4 | $503 |
Office of Communications Business Opportunities | 9 | $1,557 | 7 | $1,282 | 7 | $1,282 |
Office of Engineering & Technology | 83 | $14,909 | 77 | $14,550 | 72 | $13,807 |
Office of General Counsel | 72 | $15,674 | 77 | $16,935 | 72 | $15,982 |
Office of Legislative Affairs | 11 | $1,942 | 8 | $1,492 | 7 | $1,312 |
Office of Managing Director | 203 | $98,646 | 194 | $123,934 | 178 | $102,704 |
Office of Media Relations | 16 | $2,851 | 12 | $2,326 | 11 | $2,137 |
Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis | 21 | $3,300 | 16 | $2,702 | 15 | $2,538 |
Office of Workplace Diversity | 4 | $629 | 6 | $913 | 6 | $924 |
Office of Inspector General | 44 | $7,752 | 60 | $11,751 | 60 | $11,020 |
Total | 1,639 | $330,877 | 1,550 | $356,711 | 1,448 | $322,035 |
The Chair expressed that he would make some improvements within the organization, reduce regulatory burdens, implement new policies, and eliminate waste. The budget describes four strategic goals:
Close the Digital Divide. The FCC’s goal is to incentivize private corporations to create, sustain, expand, and improve their networks, which will be beneficial to all Americans. The FCC will provide billions of dollars from the Universal Service Fund (which is financed by an assessment on all telecommunications companies) to equip the entire nation with 4G LTE coverage. The FCC will remove regulatory burdens to broadband deployment, which will decrease costs and expand coverage to underserved areas.
Promoting Innovation. The FCC has started to focus on moving its licensing systems and legacy systems within the next ten years to the cloud. The agency will also expedite the introduction of new communication technologies and eliminate regulations that discourages investment into 5G networks.
Protecting Consumers and Public Safety. To promote safety, the FCC will target unlawful robocalling and allow law enforcement to attain emergency waivers that would give them the ability to check cell phone records. The agency looks to give support to first responders and police officers in order to strengthen public safety. Also, the FCC looks to increase the reliability of 911 services and provide citizens with critical information in cases of emergencies.
Reforming the FCC’s Processes. The FCC will strive to provide greater transparency to the public regarding pending matters and implement a regulatory reform agenda. The FCC will review its departments to improve effectiveness and efficiency, and will also conduct a thorough review of all regulations to determine if they are necessary. In addition, the agency will seek to reduce waste and fraud in the Universal Service Fund.
The budgetary savings are intended to streamline the agency as it moves forward with an agenda to reform its regulatory processes and to promote innovation in the telecommunications industry. In recent years, the FCC has used enforcement actions to create new regulatory requirements that circumvent the regular public notice and comment period that is required under the Administrative Procedure Act. Process reforms will restore due process rights and improve accountability over the regulators. The new Commissioner has already taken positive steps on transparency to release rules publicly in a timely manner before the Commissioners vote on them. And key to spurring innovation is Pai's support for rolling back "net neutrality" rules on internet providers. In 2015, the FCC approved rules to effectively regulate broadband as a public utility. These rules ultimately increase costs, reduce infrastructure investments, and stifle competition.
The FCC has listed ambitious plans for the next fiscal year, which could lead to big savings and potential investment opportunities for companies. It should be noted that technology will spur efficiency, savings, and productivity; this will not only affect the FCC, but all major federal branches as they update their departments into new technologies. The FCC plans to make much needed improvements that will lessen the burden on both taxpayers and businesses.