As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 23, 2014
Based on information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), CBO estimates that implementing S.1893 would have no significant cost. Enacting S. 1893 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 1893 would specify procedures for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to follow when planning, making, and evaluating acquisitions of security-related technology. The bill would require the agency to develop a multiyear investment plan to be transmitted to the Congress and updated every two years. The bill also would specify analyses and reports that TSA must complete to justify certain investments, evaluate the performance of technology acquired under the bill, and enhance its capacity to monitor and utilize existing inventories of security-related equipment. In addition, S. 1893 would direct GAO to review and report on issues related to TSA’s policies for procuring security-related technology.
According to DHS, the bill’s requirements are largely consistent with existing DHS procurement policies that already apply to TSA. S. 1893 would not affect TSA’s underlying mission or responsibilities, and CBO estimates that meeting new procedural requirements specified by the bill would not impose any significant new costs on the agency. We also estimate that any increased costs to GAO to complete reports required under S. 1893 would be negligible. Any such costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
S. 1893 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
On November 21, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2719, the Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on October 29, 2013. The two pieces of legislation are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same.