S. 246 would establish the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children in the Office of Tribal Justice in the Department of Justice. The 11-member commission would be tasked with completing a study of federal and nonfederal programs that serve Native American children. Under the bill, the commission would use the results of the study to develop plans and recommendations to improve those programs. The commission would submit a report on those recommendations to the Congress and the President within three years of the formation of the commission. S. 246 also would allow the commission to use staff detailed from other federal agencies to complete its work and to reimburse commission members for traveling expenses.
Based on the costs of similar commissions, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost about $2 million over the 2017-2020 period, subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts. Under the bill, amounts would be used to pay travel expenses and fees for witnesses, and to prepare the commission’s report. CBO estimates that any costs for employees detailed from other agencies to work for the commission would not be significant.
Enacting S. 246 would affect direct spending because it would authorize the new commission to accept and spend gifts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect of that provision on direct spending would be insignificant. Enacting S. 246 would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that enacting S. 246 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
S. 246 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On February 10, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 246 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on February 4, 2015. The two versions of the legislation are similar and CBO’s estimate of their budgetary effects are the same.
