[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2088-E2089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE FOR H.R. 3283

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD W. POMBO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 19, 2004

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I request that the attached cost estimate for 
H.R. 3283, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, be submitted 
for the Record.


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                                    U.S. Congress,
                                Washington, DC, November 19, 2004.
     Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
     Chairman, Committee on Resources,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3283, the 
     Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah 
     Reis, who can be reached at 226-2860.
           Sincerely,
                                              Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
     H.R. 3283--Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act
       Summary: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3283 would 
     increase direct spending by about $700 million over the 2006-
     2014 period. The bill would establish a new recreation fee 
     program for the U.S. Forest Service and for land management 
     agencies of the Department of the Interior. It would 
     authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to establish, 
     charge, and modify admission fees at units of the National 
     Park System. The bill also would authorize other agencies--
     such as the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management 
     (BLM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to 
     establish similar charges called standard amenity fees at 
     certain sites under their jurisdictions. For all agencies, 
     the use of specialized facilities or services (such as 
     developed campgrounds or boat launches) would be covered by 
     expanded amenity fees. In addition, the bill would authorize 
     interagency annual passes, which would replace current passes 
     such as Golden

[[Page E2089]]

     Eagles and National Park Passports. Finally, H.R. 3283 would 
     authorize all of the above agencies to retain and spend all 
     offsetting receipts collected under the new fee program 
     without further appropriation.
       CBO estimates that NPS and other federal agencies would 
     collect a total of $2.1 billion over the 2006-2014 period 
     under H.R. 3283, or about $800 million more than we expect 
     those agencies to collect under existing recreation fee 
     authorities. We estimate that the agencies would spend about 
     the same amount (i.e., around $2.1 billion) over that period, 
     or about $1.5 billion more than they would be allowed to 
     spend under existing law. (Under such law, beginning in 
     January 2006, agencies generally may spend a much smaller 
     percentage of fee collections than under H.R. 3283.) Thus, 
     the net budgetary impact of enacting this legislation would 
     be an increase in direct spending of about $700 million over 
     the 2006-2014 period.
       This legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
     sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
     Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
     tribal governments.
       Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated net 
     budgetary impact of H.R. 3283 is summarized in the following 
     table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget 
     function 300 (natural resources and environment).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               By fiscal year, in millions of dollars
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               2005       2006       2007       2008       2009       2010       2011       2012       2013       2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Recreation Fee Program:
    Change in Offsetting Receipts:
        Estimated Budget Authority........          0        -66        -85        -87        -88        -90        -92        -94        -96        -98
        Estimated Outlays.................          0        -66        -85        -87        -88        -90        -92        -94        -96        -98
    Change in Spending:
        Estimated Budget Authority........          0        140        176        181        182        186        190        194        198        202
        Estimated Outlays.................          0         55        123        162        178        184        188        191        195        198
    Net Change in Direct Spending:
        Estimated Budget Authority........          0         74         91         94         94         96         98        100        102        104
        Estimated Outlays.................          0        -11         38         75         90         94         96         97         99        100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Basis of Estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
     recreation fee program established by H.R. 3283 will be 
     implemented during fiscal year 2005 and that the fees adopted 
     by the affected agencies will sum to about the same level of 
     offsetting receipts currently collected under the recreation 
     fee demonstration program. This estimate is based on 
     information provided by NPS (which collects and spends the 
     vast majority of recreation fees), the Forest Service, the 
     USFWS, the Bureau of Reclamation, and BLM.
     Recreation Fees and Spending Under Current Law
       Historically, the collection and spending of recreation 
     fees by most federal agencies has been governed by the Land 
     and Water Conservation Fund Act. That act authorizes these 
     agencies to collect fees for use of, and in some cases 
     entrance to, federal lands that have significant recreational 
     resources, subject to rate caps and other limitations. It 
     also allows most of the agencies to spend up to 15 percent of 
     annual fee collections without further appropriation 
     to offset the costs of collecting the fees. The remaining 
     85 percent of fee receipts are available only if 
     subsequently appropriated.
       In 1996, the Congress established a temporary recreation 
     fee demonstration program authorizing the NPS and other 
     federal land management agencies to charge higher fees at 
     more sites than would otherwise be permitted under the LWCFA. 
     Generally, under the demonstration program, the agencies may 
     also spend without further appropriation 100 percent of all 
     offsetting receipts collected at recreation sites. That 
     spending authority applies for most agencies both to the 
     additional receipts collected under the demonstration program 
     and to the receipts that would have been collected under the 
     more limited LWCFA fee authority. As a result, the 
     demonstration program brings in an extra $80 million a year 
     but results in higher spending authority of about $170 
     million a year.
       Under current law, the demonstration program will expire at 
     the end of calendar year 2005, and recreation receipts for 
     most agencies will fall to their pre-1996 levels. Spending 
     authority will also fall--to 85 percent of receipts (except 
     for transportation fees, National Park Passports, USFWS 
     entrance fees, all of which will continue to be available 
     under other statutes such as the National Parks Omnibus 
     Management Act of 1998). Thus, while total receipts from 
     recreation fees are expected to decrease from about $220 
     million to about $140 million a year, direct spending 
     authority will be reduced by much more--from about $220 
     million to an estimated $45 million.
     Recreation Fees and Spending Under H.R. 3283
       H.R. 3283 would effectively authorize the continuation of 
     the fees and spending allowed by the recreation fee 
     demonstration program through 2014. Thus, the bill would have 
     two budgetary effects. First, allowing the agencies to 
     maintain fees charged under the demonstration program would 
     increase offsetting receipts by a total of $800 million 
     through 2014. Second, allowing all offsetting receipts from 
     recreation fees to be spent without further appropriation 
     would increase direct spending by $1.5 billion over the same 
     time period. The net impact on the federal budget would be an 
     increase in direct spending of about $700 million over the 
     next nine years (after 2005).
       Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3283 
     contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
     defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
     tribal governments.
       Previous CBO estimate: On March 22, 2004, CBO transmitted a 
     cost estimate for S. 1107, the Recreation Fee Authority Act 
     of 2004, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources on February 11, 2004. S. 1107 
     and H.R. 3283 both authorize recreation fee programs, but the 
     Senate bill only covers NPS fees while the House bill covers 
     the Forest Service and all bureaus within the Department of 
     the Interior.
       Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis; Impact 
     on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller; and 
     Impact on the Private Sector: Selena Caldera.
       Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

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