H.R. 1079 would require the Office of Management and Budget to create an electronic system to enable Members of Congress to act on behalf of consenting individuals concerning matters with any federal agency. Currently, most Congressional offices performing constituent services with federal agencies utilize a paper-based authorization process to conduct those services and to comply with privacy protection laws.
CBO estimates that creating the electronic authorization process envisioned in H.R. 1079 would be similar to the effort that was required to develop another federal system known as Login.gov. The cost of developing Login.gov—a system that offers 14 million users secure access to 18 federal agencies and more than 30 applications—was $30 million over a four year period. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1079, which would require a system with a single application and that would have fewer users would cost around $15 million, or less than $1 million per major federal agency. Most of those costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting this legislation could affect direct spending by some agencies because they are allowed to use receipts from the sale of goods, fees, and other collections to cover operating costs. As a result, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by agencies would be insignificant because most agencies can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues.
