Letter to the Honorable Howard P. "Buck" McKeon regarding a preliminary estimate of the direct spending effects of H.R. 4435, the Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Armed Services on May 8, 2014

The Congressional Budget Office has completed a preliminary estimate of the direct spending effects of H.R. 4435, the Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Armed Services on May 8, 2014. CBO’s complete cost estimate for H.R. 4435, including discretionary costs, will be provided shortly.

Based on legislative language for H.R. 4435, which was provided to CBO on May 9, 2014, CBO estimates that enacting this bill would decrease net direct spending by $1 million in 2015, but increase such spending by $1 million over the 2015-2024 period (see attached table). Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.

A provision to authorize special immigrant visas for certain Afghan allies would increase direct spending by $70 million over that 10-year period. Those costs would be offset by a provision that would increase, by $70 million, receipts from sales of material from the National Defense Stockpile. The bill also would require the Secretary of Defense to award the Purple Heart to certain service members who were killed or wounded in attacks in the United States that were motivated or inspired by foreign terrorist organizations. Enacting that provision would increase military retirement payments to some of those awardees by a total of about $1 million over the 2015-2024 period.