H.R. 757 would expand existing sanctions against North Korea. It also would authorize the appropriation of $50 million over the 2017-2021 period, primarily for expanding radio broadcasting and other programs to improve access to information in that country and providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees. CBO estimates that implementing the act would cost $44 million over the 2016-2021 period, assuming appropriation of the specified and estimated amounts.
Because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures apply; however, those effects would not be significant over the 2016-2026 period. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 757 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. H.R. 757 would impose private-sector mandates, as defined in UMRA, on entities that export goods or services sent as foreign assistance. Because of the small number of entities that would be affected and the broad scope of existing U.S. sanctions against North Korea, CBO expects that the aggregate cost of the mandates would probably fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation).
