S. 4723 would authorize the Department of State to establish a program to build the capacity of law enforcement agencies in the Caribbean and Latin America to disrupt and prosecute transnational criminal organizations linked to the People’s Republic of China. The assistance could include facilitating consultation between law enforcement agencies in those countries and their counterparts in the United States; providing training about financial investigations, money laundering, and illicit finance; supplying technical and forensic assistance; and supporting those law enforcement agencies’ internal vetting and screening programs.
The department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs assists foreign law enforcement agencies through a variety of programs. Using information on the cost of those programs, CBO estimates that providing the assistance authorized by S. 4723 would cost $5 million per year over the 2027-2031 period.
The bill also would require the department to report on organized crime in the Caribbean and Latin America that is linked to the People’s Republic of China. On the basis of information about similar activities, CBO estimates that providing the required report would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period.
In total, CBO estimates that enacting S. 4723 would cost $25 million over the 2026-2031 period. Such spending would be subject to appropriation of the estimated amounts.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Rafferty. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
