H.R. 1665 would require the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and the Interior (DOI) to establish online portals to process requests to place and operate communications facilities on federal land. The bill also would require the Department of Commerce to publish links to those portals.
DOI already operates an online system that meets the bill’s requirements. In 2024, USDA launched an online system that meets some of the bill’s requirements but will need upgrades to meet all of them. Using information from the affected agencies, CBO estimates that upgrading, administering, and maintaining the systems to comply with provisions of the bill would cost $7 million over the 2026‑2031 period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
On March 9, 2026, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1665, the DIGITAL Applications Act, as reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 4, 2026. The two bills are identical, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lilia Ledezma. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
