As reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on February 11, 2026
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars | 2026 | 2026-2031 | 2026-2036 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct Spending (Outlays) | 0 | * | * | ||||||||
Revenues | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit | 0 | * | * | ||||||||
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays) | * | * | not estimated | ||||||||
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? | No | Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? | Yes | ||||||||
Mandate Effects | |||||||||||
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? | No | Contains intergovernmental mandate? | No | ||||||||
Contains private-sector mandate? | No | ||||||||||
* = between -$500,000 and $500,000. | |||||||||||
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S. 544 would allow mining claimholders on public lands to request additional parcels of public land to host mill sites that would support operations on nearby claims. Claimholders would request such additional mill sites in their plans of operations that are reviewed by the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior. Mill sites could not exceed five acres, and usage of a mill site would not convey mineral rights to the user, although mill sites may hold mining potential. The bill also would establish the Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund. Receipts collected from additional mill sites authorized under the bill would be deposited in the fund and spent without further appropriation for abandoned mine reclamation projects.
Under current law, the departments collect $200 per mill site annually. Those fees are recorded in the federal budget as offsetting receipts; that is, as reductions in direct spending. CBO expects that enacting S. 544 would increase the number of mill sites, and thus would increase receipts in the fund. Accordingly, CBO expects that enacting S. 544 would result in a negligible decrease in net direct spending over the 2026-2036 period.
CBO expects that implementing S. 544 could increase administrative costs for agency staff to review additional requests for mill sites. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing S. 544 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emma Uebelhor. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel
Director, Congressional Budget Office