H.R. 9722 would require Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish a pilot program to test technology enhancements for inspecting vehicles and cargo at land ports of entry. The bill would require CBP to evaluate the effectiveness of at least five technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum information sciences, to detect contraband and increase the efficiency of inspections. H.R. 9722 also would require CBP to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the technologies in the program and their effect on privacy and civil rights and liberties.
Using information from CBP, CBO estimates that the agency currently deploys three technologies that are compliant with the bill’s requirements and would need to purchase two additional types of technologies. Based on the costs of similar projects, CBO estimates that CBP would incur an additional cost of about $8 million annually to procure, deploy and evaluate those technologies. Additionally, CBO estimates that it would cost less than $500,000 to comply with the bill’s reporting requirements. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 9722 would cost $40 million over the 2025-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 750 (administration of justice).
Table 1.
Estimated Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation Under H.R. 9722
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2025-2029
Estimated Authorization
8
8
9
9
9
43
Estimated Outlays
6
7
9
9
9
40
On June 25, 2024, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 4062, the CATCH Fentanyl Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on April 10, 2024. The two bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
