H.R. 1625 would authorize the Department of State to make cash awards for information on certain forms of human trafficking. The department currently has a rewards program that uses appropriated funds to offer cash awards to deter transnational organized crime. The bill would broaden the program to explicitly include severe forms of human trafficking. Based on information about awards offered under that program, CBO expects that the department could offer individual awards of up to $1 million to $2 million under the bill. However, CBO has no basis for estimating whether implementing the bill would have discretionary costs because we cannot determine whether the department would offer awards under this authority, or how many, or when such awards might be paid.
Enacting H.R. 1625 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1625 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1625 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.
