[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 111 (Thursday, July 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8924-S8925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                       CBO COST ESTIMATE--S. 901

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on July 16, 1996, I filed Report 
104-322 to accompany S. 901, to amend the Reclamation Projects 
Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, that had been ordered 
favorably reported on June 19, 1996. At the time the Report was filed, 
the estimates by Congressional Budget Office were not available. The 
estimate is now available and concludes that enactment of S. 901 would 
``not affect direct spending or receipts''. I ask that a copy of the 
CBO estimate be printed in the Record.
  The estimate follows:


               congressional budget office cost estimate

       1. Bill number: S. 901.
       2. Bill title: A bill to amend the Reclamation Projects 
     Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to authorize the 
     Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, 
     planning, and construction of certain water reclamation and 
     reuse projects and desalination research and development 
     projects, and for other purposes.
       3. Bill status: As reported by the Senate Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources on July 16, 1996.
       4. Bill purpose: S. 901 would authorize the Secretary of 
     the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and 
     construction of

[[Page S8925]]

     eleven water reclamation and reuse projects and two 
     desalination research and development projects. The projects 
     would be subject to the following conditions:
       No funds could be appropriated until a feasibility study is 
     completed and the Secretary has determined that the 
     nonfederal project sponsor is financially capable of funding 
     the nonfederal share of the project's costs;
       The federal government could not pay more than 25 percent 
     of the total cost of constructing the water reclamation and 
     reuse projects or more than 50 percent of the cost of the 
     desalinization and research and development projects; and
       The Secretary would not be authorized to provide funds for 
     the operation and maintenance of any project.
       5. Estimated cost to the Federal Government: Assuming the 
     necessary appropriations, CBO estimates that enacting S. 901 
     would result in new discretionary spending totaling $112 
     million for fiscal years 1997 through 2002. Additional 
     spending of $20 million would occur after 2002. 
     Appropriations in fiscal year 1996 for water reclamation and 
     reuse projects totaled $20 million. Assuming appropriations 
     of the needed amounts, the Bureau of Reclamation anticipates 
     spending an average of $30 million a year over the 1997-2007 
     period on projects that have already been authorized.

                                    [By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]                                    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  1996   1997   1998   1999   2000   2001   2002
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION                                       
                                                                                                                
Spending Under Current Law:                                                                                     
    Estimated Authorization Level a............................     20     30     30     30     30     30     30
    Estimated Outlays..........................................     20     28     30     30     30     30     30
Proposed Changes:                                                                                               
    Estimated Authorization Level..............................  .....     12     31     22     27     13     10
    Estimated Outlays..........................................  .....      9     25     22     27     16     13
Spending Under S. 901:                                                                                          
    Estimated Authorization Level a............................     20     42     61     52     57     43     40
    Estimated Outlays..........................................     20     37     55     52     57     46     43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a The 1996 level is the amount appropriated for that year.                                                      

       The costs of this bill fall within budget function 300.
       6. Basis of estimate: For the purpose of this estimate, CBO 
     assumes that funds will be appropriated for all projects 
     authorized by this bill and that spending will occur at 
     historical rates for similar water projects. Some of the 
     projects authorized in this bill are still in the study or 
     design phase and will not be ready to begin construction for 
     a number of years. Estimates of annual budget authority 
     needed to meet design and construction schedules were 
     provided by the Bureau of Reclamation. In all cases, CBO 
     adjusted the estimates to reflect the impact of inflation 
     during the time between authorization, appropriation, and the 
     beginning of construction.
       7. Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
       8. Estimated impact of State, local, and tribal 
     governments: S. 901 contains no intergovernmental mandates ad 
     defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public 
     Law 104-4). CBO estimates that state and local governments, 
     as nonfederal project sponsors, would incur costs totaling 
     about $370 million over fiscal years 1997 through 2006 if 
     they choose to participate in these projects. Further, 
     nonfederal project sponsors would probably incur some 
     additional costs for feasibility studies and would pay for 
     the operation and maintenance of these projects. 
     Participation in these projects would be voluntary on the 
     part of these nonfederal entities.
       This estimate is based on information provided by the 
     Bureau of Reclamation. We assumed that nonfederal project 
     sponsors would contribute 75 percent of the cost of water 
     reclamation and reuse projects and 50 percent of the cost of 
     desalinization projects, as required by the bill.
       9. Estimated impact on the private sector: This act would 
     impose no new federal private-sector mandates as defined in 
     Public Law 104-4.
       10. Previous CBO estimate: On July 22, 1996, CBO prepared a 
     cost estimate for H.R. 3660, a similar bill ordered reported 
     by the House Committee on Resources. Differences in the 
     estimated costs of the two bills reflect differences in the 
     projects authorized and in the federal shares.
       11. Estimate prepared by: Federal Cost Estimate: Gary 
     Brown; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: 
     Marjorie Miller; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Downs.
       12. Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine (for Paul N. 
     Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis).

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