H.R. 4245 would exempt exporters of certain species of sea creatures from having to obtain export licenses from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Enacting the legislation would reduce offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending, and the associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effects on direct spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
Under H.R. 4245, an export license would not be required to ship sea cucumbers, sea urchins, squid, octopus, and cuttlefish to foreign markets. Enacting the bill would reduce offsetting receipts from fees that the USFWS charges for export licenses. The bill also could reduce receipts from inspection fees because exporters of the affected products would no longer be required to clear shipments directly with the USFWS. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would reduce the fees from licensing and inspecting such shipments by less than $500,000 a year. Because the agency is authorized to retain and spend proceeds from those activities, any reduction in fee collections would be offset by a similar reduction in direct spending. On net, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have a negligible effect on the federal budget.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4245 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 4245 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
