[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 112 (Tuesday, August 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10068-S10069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CBO COST ESTIMATE--S. 244

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on July 30, 1999, I filed Report 106-
130 to accompany S. 244, the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System Act of 
1999, that had been ordered favorable reported on July 28, 1999. At the 
time the report was filed, the estimate by the Congressional Budget 
Office was not available. The estimate is now available and concludes 
that enactment of S. 244, which authorizes the appropriation of $244

[[Page S10069]]

million to the Department of the Interior to make grants to the Lewis 
and Clark Rural Water System, would cost $62 million over the 2000-2004 
period, with the rest of the authorized spending coming after 2004. I 
ask unanimous consent that a copy of the CBO estimate be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                   Washington, DC, August 2, 1999.
     Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 244, the Lewis and 
     Clark Rural Water System Act of 1999.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kim Cawley, 
     who can be reached at 226-2860.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Barry B. Anderson
                                   (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
       Enclosure.
     S. 244.--Lewis and Clark Rural Water System Act of 1999
       Summary: S. 244 would authorize the appropriations of $224 
     million to the Department of Interior (DOI) to make grants to 
     the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System for the construction 
     of a drinking water supply project. The Lewis and Clark Rural 
     Water System is a group of cities and rural areas in 
     southeastern South Dakota, northwestern Iowa, and 
     southwestern Minnesota. CBO estimates that implementing S. 
     244 would cost $62 million over the 2000-2004 period, with 
     the rest of the authorized spending coming after 2004.
       Enactment of this bill would not affect direct spending or 
     receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
     apply. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
     sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
     Act (UMRA). State and local governments might incur some 
     costs as a result of the bill's enactment, but these costs 
     would be voluntary.
       Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
     budgetary impact of S. 244 is shown in the following table. 
     The costs of this legislation fall within the budget function 
     300 (natural resources and environment).

                    SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                    dollars
                                      ----------------------------------
                                        2000   2001   2002   2003   2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorization Level..................    224      0      0      0      0
Estimated Outlays....................      1      2      9     25     25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Basis of Estimate: For purposes of this estimate, CBO 
     assumes that the full amount of the authorization will be 
     provided in 2000. We estimated the annual amount of spending 
     on this drinking water system construction project using 
     information from the local water system and historical 
     spending rates for similar projects. Completion of this 
     project is expected to take about 12 years.
       Pay-as-You-Go Considerations: None.
       Estimated Impact on State, Local and Tribal Governments: S. 
     244 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined UMRA. 
     The bill would require that the nonfederal share of project 
     costs equal 20 percent, except for the incremental cost of 
     participation in the project by the city of Sioux Falls. The 
     city would be required to pay 50 percent of that cost. Any 
     State or local governments choosing to participate in the 
     project authorized by this would do so on a voluntary basis, 
     and any cost that they might incur would be accepted by them 
     on that basis.
       Estimated Impact on the Private Sector: This bill contains 
     no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
       Estimate Prepared by: Federal Costs: Kim Cawley (226-2860); 
     Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie 
     Miller (225-3220).
       Estimate Approved by: Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

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