H.R. 1731 · Where this bill is now
Waiting for a House vote
Approved by committee Feb 4, 2026; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStandardizes fees for federal building communications
Ever wonder who sets the fees when a company wants to put antennas or cables on a federal building? Right now, different agencies charge different amounts. This bill would have the General Services Administration create one standard fee schedule that all federal agencies would use for applications to place, modify, or maintain communications facilities on federal property. The fees would be based on what it actually costs the government to process those applications, and agencies could only spend the money they collect on processing more applications.
How it affects you
This mainly affects telecommunications companies and other businesses that need to install communications equipment on federal buildings or land. For them, the change means predictable, consistent pricing across the government instead of figuring out different fees for each agency. Most everyday Americans won't directly notice the difference, though standardized fees could affect the cost of services these companies provide.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Feb 27, 2025)
Standard Fees to Expedite Evaluation and Streamlining Act or the Standard FEES Act
This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish, and federal agencies to adopt, a uniform schedule of fees for applications to place, modify, or maintain communications facilities in, over, or on federally owned buildings and property.
The fees established by the GSA must be competitively neutral with respect to other application fees for similar uses of federal buildings and property and based on the direct and actual costs of processing such applications. The GSA may establish exceptions to the fee schedule to be granted by agencies on a case-by-case basis, provided the exceptions are competitively neutral with respect to the categories of individuals or entities granted exceptions and meet certain other requirements.
Agencies may only use fees collected to cover the costs of processing applications, and only to the extent that the funds are provided in advance in appropriations acts.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 1731
A BILL
Standard FEES Act
Sponsor: Rep. Gary J. Palmer (R-AL-6) · Introduced Feb 27, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 4, 2026: “Reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-488, Part I.”