[Senate Report 115-192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 282
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-192
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL TO REQUIRE THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES TO
CONDUCT A STUDY AND SUBMIT A REPORT ON FILING REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND PROGRAMS
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 875
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 11, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
79-010 WASHINGTON : 2017
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred fifteenth congress
first session
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma TOM UDALL, New Mexico
MIKE LEE, Utah GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado MARGARETWOODHASSAN,NewHampshire
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
Nick Rossi, Staff Director
Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Christopher Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Calendar No. 282
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-192
======================================================================
A BILL TO REQUIRE THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES TO
CONDUCT A STUDY AND SUBMIT A REPORT ON FILING REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND PROGRAMS
_______
December 11, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thune, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 875]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 875) to require the Comptroller
General of the United States to conduct a study and submit a
report on filing requirements under the Universal Service Fund
programs, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and
recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
S. 875 would direct the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to study the various filing requirements the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and Universal Service
Administrative Company (USAC) impose on companies receiving
Universal Service Fund (USF) support. The GAO would be required
to submit a report assessing the financial impact of these
filings and recommending how to consolidate any redundant
filing requirements. S. 875 also would require the FCC to
incorporate the GAO report in an FCC rulemaking regarding
consolidation of redundant filing requirements. The FCC also
would be required to consider whether any recommendation would
affect the FCC's ability to prevent and take enforcement action
against waste, fraud, and abuse.
Background and Needs
The FCC's USF supports four main programs: the Connect
America Fund which provides support for wireline providers and,
through the Mobility Fund, for mobile providers, in rural
areas; lifeline, which provides support for low-income
consumers for fixed or mobile service; Schools and Libraries,
also known as E-Rate, which supports broadband for schools and
libraries; and Rural Health Care, which supports broadband for
health care providers. The USF is administered by the USAC,
which distributes almost $10 billion in USF support
annually.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), ``USAC 2016
Annual Report,'' p.20, at https://www.usac.org/--res/documents/about/
pdf/annual-reports/usac-annual-report-interactive-2016.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Participants in programs funded by the USF are required to
submit a wide variety of reports to both the FCC and to USAC
annually.\2\ For example, Cordova Telephone Cooperative, Inc.,
a small rural telephone cooperative providing wireline and
wireless service covering approximately 4,000 square miles in
Alaska with a population of just over 2000, reported that, in
2014, it was required to submit 91 regulatory filings to the
FCC and USAC.\3\ Many of those filings required the use of
outside consultants. A comprehensive review of these varied
filing requirements may identify redundancies, unnecessary
collections, or overly burdensome requirements not justified by
their contribution to the operation of the fund or the
prevention of waste, fraud, and abuse.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\See, e.g., USAC, ``2017 High Cost Program Filing Deadlines,'' at
http://www.usac.org/--res/documents/hc/pdf/handouts/hc-filing-
deadlines.pdf.
\3\Letter from Michael Garrett, President, Alaska Telephone
Association, to Marlene Dortch, Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission, April 23, 2015, WC Docket No. 10-90, attachment, at https:/
/ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/60001044502.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legislative History
S. 875 was introduced on April 6, 2017, by Senator Sullivan
and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate. On June 29, 2017, the Committee
met in open Executive Session and, by a voice vote, ordered S.
875 reported favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute). Senator Sullivan offered a substitute amendment
that was adopted by the Committee.
A similar bill, H.R. 3523, was introduced in the House of
Representative by Representative Don Young on July 27, 2017,
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
S. 875--A bill to require the Comptroller General of the United States
to conduct a study and submit a report on filing requirements
under the Universal Service Fund programs
S. 875 would require the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to undertake a study and produce a report on
consolidating filing requirements for participants in Universal
Service Fund (USF) programs. Under the bill, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) would be required to initiate a
rulemaking that includes recommendations from the GAO report
and an analysis of whether the benefits of consolidated filing
outweigh the potential risks of increased waste, fraud, and
abuse in the USF program.
Based on an analysis of information from the FCC, CBO
estimates that implementing the provisions of S. 875 would
require four additional employees and cost $1 million over the
2018-2022 period for FCC to conduct the rulemaking and to
produce the required analysis. However, under current law, 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 the FCC to implement S. 875
would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent
with that authority. Based on the costs of similar reports
produced by GAO, CBO estimates that the costs to the agency to
conduct the required analysis and report would not be
significant.
Enacting S. 875 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 875 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 875 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
If the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the
costs of the rulemaking and analysis required by the bill, S.
875 would increase the cost of an existing private-sector
mandate on commercial entities required to pay those fees.
Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that the
incremental cost of the mandate would be small--no more than
about $1 million over the 2018-2022 period--and would fall well
below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-
sector mandates ($156 million in 2017, adjusted annually for
inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Stephen Rabent
(for federal costs) and Logan Smith (for private-sector
mandates). The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
The bill would only apply to those persons already subject
to filing requirements associated with the USF, and is intended
to reduce those filing requirements. The bill would have no
effect on the number or types of individuals and businesses
regulated in the United States.
economic impact
By reducing duplicative, unnecessary, and unduly burdensome
reporting requirements, the bill is expected to have a positive
economic impact.
privacy
The bill is not expected to have an adverse effect on the
personal privacy of any individuals.
paperwork
The Committee does not anticipate an increased paperwork
burden on regulated entities as a result of this bill.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Study and report on filing requirements under Universal
Service Fund programs.
This section would define terms used in the bill and would
require the GAO, within 18 months of enactment of S. 875, to do
the following: conduct a study analyzing the filing
requirements for covered carriers participating in USF
programs, including any filings required by the USAC; analyze
the financial impact of those filing requirements on those
carriers; and make recommendations, if any, on how to
consolidate redundant filing requirements on those carriers.
The GAO would be required to submit the study to the FCC, the
Committee, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives. The Committee understands that, under
the bill, the GAO is not required to study or consider filing
requirements imposed upon specified carriers by the National
Exchange Carrier Association (NECA). Nonetheless, the Committee
believes that the GAO may still consider all relevant NECA
reporting requirements in assessing opportunities to streamline
FCC and USAC reporting requirements.
Within 60 days of receiving the report developed by the
GAO, the FCC would be required to initiate a rulemaking
regarding, or to include in an ongoing rulemaking, GAO's
recommendations, if any, to consolidate redundant filing
requirements. The FCC also would be required to seek comment on
whether the benefit of each recommendation is outweighed by any
potential increased risk of waste, fraud, and abuse. In the
event the FCC has completed a rulemaking to consolidate
redundant filing requirements for carriers participating in USF
programs before the GAO report is submitted to the FCC, the FCC
would not be required to conduct a new rulemaking. The
Committee believes that the FCC's July 7, 2017, report and
order in WC Docket Nos. 10-90 and 14-58 (FCC 17-87), which
streamlined the annual reporting requirements for eligible
telecommunications carriers receiving high-cost universal
service support, does not constitute the broad review of all
USF programs envisioned by S. 875.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
[all]