As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 14, 2026
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars | 2026 | 2026-2031 | 2026-2036 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct Spending (Outlays) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
Revenues | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays) | * | * | not estimated | ||||||||
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? | No | Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? | No | ||||||||
Mandate Effects | |||||||||||
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? | No | Contains intergovernmental mandate? | No | ||||||||
Contains private-sector mandate? | Yes, Under Threshold | ||||||||||
* = between -$500,000 and $500,000. | |||||||||||
On This Page
S. 1962 would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from issuing licenses or granting access to U.S. markets to entities that control orbiting satellite systems or Earth stations that are connected to orbiting satellite systems and that pose a risk to national security.
Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that it would cost the FCC less than $500,000 to implement S. 1962. Because the commission is authorized to collect fees each year sufficient to offset the appropriated costs of its regulatory activities, CBO estimates that the net cost would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions consistent with that authority.
If the FCC increased fees to offset the costs associated with implementing the bill, S. 1962 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 would fall well below the threshold established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) for private-sector mandates ($214 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation).
S. 1962 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.
On June 27, 2025, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2458, the Secure Space Act of 2025, as passed by the House of Representatives on April 28, 2025. The two pieces of legislation are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Hughes (for the FCC) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel
Director, Congressional Budget Office