[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 11, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6109-S6110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SUBMISSION OF CBO SCORING FOR INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION BILL (S. 1718)

 Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, on April 30, 1996, the Select 
Committee on Intelligence reported S. 1718, the Intelligence 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 from committee. Knowing that 
this would be a relatively short legislative year and that the Armed 
Services Committee would take our bill on referral for up to 30 days of 
session--as it does every year, the committee marked up this bill at 
the earliest possible date. The Congressional Budget Office was not 
able to complete its scoring of our bill before we filed the report. We 
have now received the report of the Congressional Budget Office and I 
ask that it be printed in the Record so that Members will have an 
opportunity to review it before the Intelligence bill comes up for 
consideration by the full Senate.
  The report follows:

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                     Washington, DC, May 22, 1996.
     Hon. Arlen Specter,
     Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senate, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1718, the 
     Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, as 
     reported by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on 
     April 30, 1996.
       The bill would affect direct spending and receipts, and 
     thus would be subject to pay-as-you-go procedures under 
     section 252 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
     Control Act of 1985.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them.
           Sincerely,
                                                     James L. Blum
                                  (For June E. O'Neill, Director).

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

       1. Bill number: S. 1718.
       2. Bill title: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal 
     Year 1997.
       3. Bill status: As reported by the Senate Select Committee 
     on Intelligence on April 30, 1996.
       4. Bill purpose: This bill would authorize appropriations 
     for fiscal year 1997 for intelligence activities of the 
     United States government, the Community Management Staff of 
     the Director of Central Intelligence, and the Central 
     Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System.
       5. Estimated cost to the Federal Government: Table 1 
     summarizes the budgetary effects of the unclassified sections 
     of the bill on direct spending, revenues, and authorizations 
     of appropriations for 1997. CBO could not obtain the 
     necessary information to estimate the costs for the entire 
     bill because parts are classified at a level above clearances 
     now held by CBO employees.
       6. Basis of estimate: The estimate assumes that S. 1718 
     will be enacted by October 1, 1996, and that the full amounts 
     authorized will be appropriated. CBO used historical spending 
     rates for estimating outlays.


                      Direct Spending and Revenues

       Title V of S. 1718 defines economic espionage and contains 
     provisions governing fines and forfeitures that would affect 
     direct spending and revenues. Although the bill would provide 
     for penalties that could accumulate to be in the millions of 
     dollars in any one year, CBO cannot predict the frequency of 
     successful prosecutions for economic espionage or the amounts 
     of the fines that would be levied and collected. 
     Nevertheless, the only net budgetary impact would stem from 
     civil fines.

 TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNCLASSIFIED 
                           SECTIONS OF S. 1718                          
                [By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUES                      
                                                                        
Direct spending:                                                        
  Estimated budget authority..     0  (\1\                              
                                         )  (\1\                        
                                               )  (\1\                  
                                                     )  (\1\            
                                                           )  (\1\      
                                                                 )  (\1\
                                                                       )
  Estimated outlays...........     0  (\1\                              
                                         )  (\1\                        
                                               )  (\1\                  
                                                     )  (\1\            
                                                           )  (\1\      
                                                                 )  (\1\
                                                                       )
Revenues......................     0  (\1\                              
                                         )  (\1\                        
                                               )  (\1\                  
                                                     )  (\1\            
                                                           )  (\1\      
                                                                 )  (\1\
                                                                       )
                                                                        
                SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS ACTION               
                                                                        
Spending under current law:                                             
  Budget authority \2\........   305     0     0     0     0     0     0
  Estimated outlays...........   350    39    19     5     0     0     0
Proposed changes:                                                       
  Estimated authorization                                               
   level......................     0   282     1     0     0     0     0
  Estimated outlays...........     0   239    25    14     5     0     0
Spending under the bill:                                                
  Estimated authorization                                               
   level \2\..................   305   282     1     0     0     0     0
  Estimated outlays...........   350   278    44    19     5     0     0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ CBO cannot estimate the direct spending and revenue impacts of the  
  bill. Title V would affect both spending and revenues through fines   
  and forefeitures associated with economic espionage. Over time, these 
  effects would be offsetting except for civil fines as described in the
  text.                                                                 
\2\ The 1996 figure is the amount already appropriated.                 

       Fines.--The imposition of new civil and criminal fines in 
     S. 1718 could cause governmental receipts to increase. Civil 
     fines would be deposited into the general fund of the 
     Treasury. Criminal fines would be deposited in the Crime 
     Victims Fund and would be spent in the following year; thus, 
     direct spending from the fund would match the increase in 
     revenues from criminal fines with a one-year lag.
       Forfeiture.--A new forfeiture provision in S. 1718 could 
     lead to more assets seized and forfeited to the United States 
     as a result of economic espionage. Proceeds from the sale of 
     any such assets would be deposited as revenues into the 
     Assets Forfeiture Fund of the Department of Justice and spent 
     out of the fund in the same year. Thus, direct spending from 
     the Assets Forfeiture Fund would match any increase in 
     revenues.

[[Page S6110]]

               spending subject to appropriations action

       The bill would authorize the appropriation of $280 million 
     for intelligence and intelligence-related activities for 1997 
     as well as such sums as may be necessary to establish the 
     Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal 
     Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass 
     Destruction.
       Section 104 would authorize appropriations of $95.5 million 
     for 1997 for the Community Management Account of the Director 
     of Central Intelligence. Similarly, section 201 specifies an 
     authorization of appropriations for the Central Intelligence 
     Agency Retirement and Disability Fund of $184.2 million. In 
     addition, CBO estimates costs of $3 million over two years to 
     establish the new commission.
       7. Pay-as-you-go considerations: The Balanced Budget and 
     Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 sets up pay-as-you-go 
     procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
     receipts through 1998. The bill would have the following pay-
     as-you-go impact:

                [By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      1996   1997   1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in outlays..................................      0  (\1\)  (\1\)
Change in receipts.................................      0  (\1\)  (\1\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ CBO cannot estimate the direct spending and revenue impacts of the  
  bill. Title V would affect both spending and revenues through fines   
  and forfeitures associated with economic espionage. Over time, these  
  effects would be offsetting except for civil fines as described in the
  text.                                                                 

       8. Estimated cost to State, local, and tribal governments: 
     Section 4 of Public Law 104-4 excludes from application of 
     that act legislative provisions that are necessary for the 
     national security. CBO has determined that all the provisions 
     of S. 1718 either fit within this exclusion or do not contain 
     intergovernmental mandates as defined by Public Law 104-4.
       9. Estimated impact on the private sector: CBO has 
     determined that all the provisions of S. 1718 either fit 
     within the national security exclusion or do not contain 
     private-sector mandates as defined by Public Law 104-4.
       10. Previous CBO estimate: None.
       11. Estimate prepared by: Federal Cost Estimate: Jeannette 
     Van Winkle. Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: 
     Karen McVey. Impact on Private Sector: Neil Singer.
       12. Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine for Paul N. 
     Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                          ____________________