S. 3496 would direct the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to curb illegal gold mining in the Western Hemisphere. The department would be required to report to the Congress on those actions. The bill also would require the department to investigate and report to the Congress on illicit gold mining in Venezuela. Finally, S. 3496 would direct the Department of State to work with democratically elected governments in South America to establish a public-private partnership to bring small-scale gold mining operations into compliance with environmental and labor laws.
On the basis of information from the Department of State, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase the department’s workload by the equivalent of five full-time employees. Using information from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget about federal employee salaries and benefits and about non-salary costs, CBO estimates that implementing S. 3496 would cost $8 million over the 2026-2031 period (see Table 1). Such spending would be subject to the appropriation of the estimated amounts.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 150 (international affairs).
Table 1.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of S. 3496
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2026-2031
Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation
Estimated Authorization
*
1
1
2
2
2
8
Estimated Outlays
*
1
1
2
2
2
8
* = between zero and $500,000.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Rafferty. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
