H.R. 5683 would require the Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to the Congress within 180 days of enactment on the department’s active contracts that relate to U.S.-Mexico border security and that are above $50 million. The report would need to include an assessment of whether contract personnel are necessary to fulfill the department’s mission on the U.S.-Mexico land border and a strategy to improve the effectiveness of such contracts. The bill also would require DHS to submit a plan to implement the strategy and brief the Congress every six months until the plan has been implemented.
Using information from DHS, CBO expects that the department would need about $2 million in contractor support and seven employees to produce the report and about twice as many employees to implement the strategy for two to three years after it is finalized. On that basis, and assuming the bill is enacted near the end of fiscal year 2022, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5683 would cost approximately $6 million over the 2022-2026 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
