Congressional Budget Office Scores Noncom Aid Bill

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The Congressional Budget Office has given S. 1090, the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015, a clean financial bill of health (CBO "scores" legislation for its financial impact).

The legislation would make it explicit that noncommercial radio and TV stations are eligible for government assistance—grants and loans—in the wake of disasters.

Nonprofits are eligible for FEMA grants and SBA loans, but the bill would make it clear that noncom broadcasters fit that description. Given that it is just clarifying current policy, the bill would not affect spending of revenues, the budgets of state or local governments and does not represent an unfunded mandate. 

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.