As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 30, 2013
S. 839 would amend a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program to protect coral reefs. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $217 million over the 2014-2018 period and $9 million after 2018.
CBO also estimates that enacting S. 839 would increase direct spending by $31 million over the 2014-2023 period and would increase revenues by $2 million over that period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.
By establishing new protections for coral reefs, S. 839 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). CBO estimates that the costs of complying with those mandates would fall below the annual thresholds established in UMRA ($75 million for intergovernmental mandates and $150 million for private-sector mandates, in 2013, adjusted annually for inflation).
