@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”;...

The FCC is asking Congress for $359.3 million for fiscal year 2014, up $12.5 million from this year, all of which would be paid for through regulatory fees. Under the FCC’s budget (http://bit.ly/YLROE9), the number of full-time equivalent staff would increase from 1,776 this year to 1,821 in FY 2014. The Wireline Bureau would get the biggest staff increase, up 41 to 217. The Office of Managing Director would gain 20 to 223. Staff assigned to the chairman and commissioners would increase by six to 31. The FCC seeks $10.9 million to pay for the increasing cost of overseeing the USF. “More resources are required to continue the Commission’s work to modernize USF, implement reforms, and increase its oversight of the newly-reformed programs,” according to the budget document. “This request will support funding for additional staff” including attorneys, economists, IT specialists, program managers and technologists. The agency asks for $500,000 to help it construct a Public Safety Answering Points Do Not Call Registry, as mandated by Congress last year. But the agency also identified $2 million in cuts, through “identified efficiencies and savings in travel, telecommunications, contracts, and other expenses.” The FCC also asks for $4.8 million to move part of its Enforcement Bureau field operations from an old farmhouse at the FCC’s Columbia, Md., campus to its D.C. headquarters. “If the FCC continues to house employees and equipment in this facility, it must undergo a complete renovation,” the FCC said. “This extensive work would require replacement of walls, ceilings, floors, mechanical and electrical systems, furniture and other equipment. The farmhouse is a historical building, and as a result has presented challenges to any efforts to upgrade the facility."