House Appropriators Seek Static FCC Funding for FY26, Bar Digital Discrimination Enforcement
The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 budget bill, which the subpanel planned to mark up Monday evening, would maintain the FCC’s annual funding level and bar the agency from using money to enforce certain policies that originated during the Biden administration and have been in Republicans’ crosshairs.
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Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee's FY 2026 funding bill, which that panel advanced last week, calls on the Trump administration to unfreeze $550 million allocated for the fifth year of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Digital Equity Act program, which the White House confirmed in its FY26 budget request (see 2506020056).
House Appropriations Financial Services seeks to keep the FCC’s annual funding at $390.2 million for FY26, including $12.7 million for its Office of Inspector General. That’s level with what the commission received in FY 2024 and FY 2025 (see 2403250015) but 6% less than what President Donald Trump proposed in his budget request. The bill, which House Appropriations released Sunday night, would also allocate the FTC $388.6 million for FY26. That’s more than an 8% decrease from what the agency received for FY24 and FY25 but 1% above what the Trump administration sought.
The House Appropriations Financial Services bill would bar the FCC from using any FY26 funding to “implement, administer, or enforce” its 2024 digital discrimination order, something the subpanel previously included in its FY25 funding bill (see 2406050067). House and Senate Republicans also bowed Congressional Review Act resolutions of disapproval last year that aimed to roll back that order (see 2403140070).
The measure would also ban the FCC from establishing “an advisory committee with respect to any environmental, social or governance matter.” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in January scrapped the Communications Equity and Diversity Council and the Digital Discrimination Task Force in response to a Trump executive order (see 2501210070). House Appropriations pursued similar language during the FY25 funding cycle (see 2407100060). Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., tried unsuccessfully during the FY24 funding cycle to defund the FCC's diversity council (see 2311080083).
Senate Appropriations’ CJS FY26 funding bill report, released Friday, directs NTIA to “immediately” issue a notice of funding opportunity for the FY25 IIJA digital equity funding pot “by the time” Congress approves the measure. The panel appeared to admonish the agency for not issuing guidance so far in 2025. Several congressional Democrats have been pressing the Commerce Department and nominees on the matter (see 2505130072). Twenty-two states are collectively suing the Trump administration over its freeze on federal grants and loans (see 2507090001).
Senate Appropriations also said it “supports the prompt liquidation of BEAD funding to States in alignment with their approved state broadband plans.” NTIA in June released an updated policy notice for the $42.5 billion program, reversing much of what the Biden administration developed in the initiative’s initial rules (see 2506060052). The panel voted 19-10 last week to advance the bill, which allocates NTIA $57 million for FY26. That’s down more than 3% from what it got in FY24 and FY25 but mirrors what Trump requested. It’s 17% more than what House Appropriations CJS included in the FY26 bill it advanced last week (see 2507140052). House Appropriations plans to vote Thursday on its CJS bill.