Despite Chairman Brendan Carr touting cost-cutting during his first months at the FCC, the Commission is raising its budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2026. In its annual filing, the FCC wants $552.8 million – a 4.2% increase over FY 2025.
Even with this boost in total funding, the Commission is planning to reduce its regulatory collection workforce to 1,404 full-time equivalents (FTEs), down from 1,478 in FY 2025, marking the lowest staffing levels in the agency’s modern history.
For broadcasters, this budget cycle reflects a strategic pivot. The FCC is reinforcing its regulatory priorities, particularly in public safety, digital modernization, and compliance enforcement, while relying less on a large workforce and more on technological infrastructure. Radio operators should anticipate increased regulatory expectations, especially in emergency alerting and filing compliance, even as field-level staffing continues to shrink.
The FCC’s $416 million budget for overseeing regulatory fee collection, up 6.6% year-over-year, will support bureaus that directly affect radio operators. The Media Bureau, responsible for licensing, ownership oversight, and public file compliance, is budgeted at $28.8 million, flat compared to FY 2025, with a small reduction in staff to 112 FTEs.
The Enforcement Bureau, with a requested $46 million (up slightly from $45.9 million), is losing 10 positions, reducing its FTE count to 174. Despite that cut, the budget increase indicates growing investment in tools for investigations and compliance actions, particularly regarding pirate operations.
Funding for the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau remains level at $28.1 million, even as its staffing drops to 110 FTEs. The bureau continues to manage EAS oversight as the FCC looks to expand its multilingual capabilities.
One of the most notable funding increases is within the Office of Managing Director, which will grow from $99.3 million to $123.5 million. This signals a major push toward IT modernization and administrative efficiency, with system upgrades to LMS, Public Inspection Files, and backend infrastructure likely. Meanwhile, the Office of Inspector General’s funding will grow from $12.1 million to $13.5 million, a likely indicator of heightened internal audits and oversight across all licensees, including those in radio.
Meanwhile, budget language hints at no significant change in the overall fee structure, meaning regulatory costs will likely remain stable.
