S. 171, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments and Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2017
Cost Estimate
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 24, 2017
The bill would authorize the appropriation of $183 million annually through 2021 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct certain hydrographic activities (the measurement and description of features that affect maritime navigation). S. 171 also would modify recruiting policies for the NOAA commissioned officer corps.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 171 would cost $697 million over the 2018-2022 period and $28 million after 2022, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. Enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such effects would be insignificant.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 171 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). CBO estimates that the costs of those mandates would fall below the annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($78 million and $156 million in 2017, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).