Category: US Congressional

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

H.R. 1607 would direct the Forest Service to withdraw land, which CBO expects would total about 17,000 acres, from the National Forest System in an area adjacent to the Salt River Project (SRP) in Arizona and transfer it to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). The bill also would clarify that regulatory jurisdiction to develop hydroelectricity and power transmission on that land would be the responsibility of BOR.

The SRP is owned and regulated by BOR and jointly operated by the Salt River Valley Water User’s Association and the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District. The project consists of seven dams and reservoirs, 1,300 miles of conveyance infrastructure, and five hydroelectric plants on the Salt and Verde Rivers that supply water and power to central Arizona.

Two agreements signed in 1917 and 1979 among the association, the district, the Forest Service, and BOR set guidelines for managing the lands withdrawn from the National Forest System for SRP purposes; such withdrawals have occurred about 50 times since 1903. The agreements also authorize the association and district to construct power infrastructure and retain receipts from power sales for the SRP.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives announces bills that will be considered under suspension of the rules in that chamber. Under suspension, floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, points of order against the bill are waived, and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote.

At the request of the Majority Leader and the House Committee on the Budget, CBO estimates the effects of those bills on direct spending and revenues. CBO has limited time to review the legislation before consideration. Although it is possible in most cases to determine whether the legislation would affect direct spending or revenues, time may be insufficient to estimate the magnitude of those effects. If CBO has prepared estimates for similar or identical legislation, a more detailed assessment of budgetary effects, including effects on spending subject to appropriation, may be included.

CBO’s estimates of the bills that have been posted for possible consideration under suspension of the rules during the week of September 25, 2023, include:

• H.R. 292, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 24355 Creekside Road in Santa Clarita, California, as the “William L. Reynolds Post Office Building”
• H.R. 498, 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act
• H.R. 890, Guidance Out of Darkness Act of 2023, as amended
• H.R. 996, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3901 MacArthur Blvd., in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the “Dr. Rudy Lombard Post Office”
• H.R. 2379, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 616 East Main Street in St. Charles, Illinois, as the “Veterans of the Vietnam War Memorial Post Office”
• H.R. 3226, PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2023
• H.R. 3821, Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act of 2023
• H.R. 3836, Medicaid Primary Care Improvement Act
• H.R. 3838, Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act
• H.R. 3944, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 West Church Street in Mount Vernon, Georgia, as the “Second Lieutenant Patrick Palmer Calhoun Post Office”
• H.R. 4502, Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity Experts Act of 2023, as amended
• H.R. 4531, Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, as amended
• H.R. 5110, Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, as amended
• S. 475, To designate the clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Gallup, New Mexico, as the Hiroshi ‘‘Hershey’’ Miyamura VA Clinic.
• S. 2795, To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend and modify certain authorities and requirements relating to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

S. 2795 would extend various authorities for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The following extensions would affect direct spending:

• Extending, for two years, the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to fully restore certain education benefits for students who were unable to complete their program of study and thus did not receive credits because the schools they attended were closed or their courses were disapproved by VA.
• Extending, for one day, the higher rates for fees that VA currently charges borrowers for home loan guarantees.
Additionally, the bill would extend authorizations of appropriations for emergency preparedness activities undertaken by VA.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

On July 26, 2023, the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Personnel convened a hearing at which David E. Mosher, the Congressional Budget Office’s Director of National Security Analysis, testified about approaches to reducing the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) compensation costs. After the hearing, Senators Joe Manchin III and Dan Sullivan submitted questions for the record. This document provides CBO’s answers.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

H.R. 2839 would amend the Siletz Reservation Act, enacted in 1980, to permit the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the state of Oregon to alter or replace the agreement defining the tribe’s right to use the land. Pursuant to that act, the tribe and the state entered into a consent decree that established limits on the hunting, fishing, and trapping rights of the tribe. Those limitations cannot be modified under current federal law.

Using information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO expects that under the bill the agency would provide technical assistance to the tribe and the state to facilitate any revisions to the agreement. CBO estimates that the cost of those efforts would not be significant; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

H.R. 2969 would establish a working group within the Department of the Treasury to research terrorists’ use of new financial technologies, including digital assets, and report on its findings. The working group would comprise 16 senior-level representatives from specified agencies in the federal government. The bill would require the working group to report within 180 days of enactment on the evasion of sanctions using digital assets to the Congress and to report annually to the Congress and other executive branch agencies about its findings. The working group’s members would serve without pay but would be compensated for travel expenses. Under the bill, the working group would sunset four years after enactment.

Using information about the costs of similar working groups, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2969 would cost less than $500,000 annually and $1 million over the 2024-2028 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

H.R. 1747 would exempt certain blockchain developers and networks from financial reporting and licensing requirements required under current federal and state laws. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that records and shares every transaction that occurs among users in a system of networked computers. Under current law, money transmitters—businesses that provide money transfer services or payment instruments—are regulated and licensed at the state level and are subject to anti-money laundering reporting requirements at the federal level.

Some blockchain developers and networks control their users’ digital assets by providing “hosted virtual wallet” services in which they store and exchange virtual currency on behalf of their users. Under the bill, blockchain developers or networks that do not provide “hosted virtual wallets” could not be treated as money transmitters, and thus would not be subject to the reporting requirements.

Based on information from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and subject matter experts, CBO expects that H.R. 1747 is largely consistent with the agency’s current regulations and would largely codify existing policies and guidance. However, the bill could provide a safe harbor for a small number of entities who are currently subject to federal anti-money laundering regulations. As a result, CBO estimates that FinCEN would incur administrative costs of less than $500,000 over the 2024-2028 period to issue new guidance and conduct outreach to the private sector. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

CBO was established to give the Congress a stronger role in budget matters. The agency provides analysis of budgetary and economic issues that is objective and impartial. It is strictly nonpartisan and does not make policy recommendations.

CBO follows processes that are specified in statute or that it has developed in concert with the Budget Committees and Congressional leadership. CBO’s chief responsibility under the Budget Act is to help the Budget Committees with the matters under their jurisdiction.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

H.J. Res. 88 would disapprove the final rule relating to “Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program” issued by the Department of Education and published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2023. (That rule created a new income-driven repayment plan called Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE.) The resolution would invoke a legislative process established by the Congressional Review Act, which would repeal the rule and prohibit the department from issuing the same or similar rules in the future.

Source: US Congressional Budget Office

Division A would specify changes to funding amounts and authorities for certain accounts. Estimates are annualized—that is, estimated as if appropriations were provided for the entire fiscal year.

Division B would provide direction regarding the budgetary treatment of the bill.

Divisions C and D would limit the ability of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide parole to aliens (non-U.S. nationals), which allows them to temporarily enter the United States, in part by defining the reasons for which that parole may be granted. The bill also would change how DHS treats aliens applying for asylum and unaccompanied alien children crossing the border. The bill also would change the department’s procedures for interacting with aliens seeking to enter the United States without authorization.