[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 53 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E379-E380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COST ESTIMATE ON H.R. 5089, STRENGTHENING LOCAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
                        CAPABILITIES ACT OF 2018

                                 ______
                                 



                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2018

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following cost 
estimate for H.R. 5089, Strengthening Local Transportation Security 
Capabilities Act of 2018, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, 
which was not made available to the Committee at the time of filing of 
the legislative report.

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                   Washington, DC, March 26, 2018.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5089, the 
     Strengthening Local Transportation Security Capabilities Act 
     of 2018.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
     Carroll.
           Sincerely,
                                             Keith Hall, Director.
       Enclosure.

H.R. 5089--Strengthening Local Transportation Security Capabilities Act 
                                of 2018

      As passed by the House of Representatives on March 22, 2018


                                SUMMARY

       Under current law, the role of the Department of Homeland 
     Security (DHS) in safeguarding surface transportation 
     systems, which are largely owned and operated by state and 
     local entities, primarily involves overseeing, coordinating, 
     and regulating security-related activities. (Surface 
     transportation includes the four general modes of land-based 
     transportation: mass transit, freight rail, highway motor 
     carrier, and pipeline.) H.R. 5089 would authorize DHS to 
     pursue efforts to enhance the security of such systems.
       Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
     estimates that implementing H.R. 5089 would cost $21 million 
     over the 2019-2022 period. Enacting the legislation would not 
     affect direct spending or revenues, therefore pay-as-you-go 
     procedures do not apply.
       CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5089 would not increase 
     net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
     consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
       H.R. 5089 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
     mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
     (UMRA).


                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

       The estimated budgetary effect of H.R. 5089 is shown in the 
     following table. The costs of the legislation fall within 
     budget function 400 (transportation).

[[Page E380]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       2018      2019      2020      2021      2022    2018-2022
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
 
Estimated Authorization Level......................         0         3         6         6         6         21
Estimated Outlays..................................         0         3         6         6         6         21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                           BASIS OF ESTIMATE

       This estimate assumes that H.R. 5089 will be enacted near 
     the start of fiscal year 2019 and that necessary funds will 
     be appropriated each year.
       H.R. 5089 would direct DHS to prioritize the assignment of 
     federal officers and intelligence analysts to existing fusion 
     centers in jurisdictions where high-risk surface 
     transportation systems are located to enhance information 
     sharing about security-related threats. (Fusion centers are 
     state and locally owned facilities that serve as focal points 
     for coordinating the efforts of government agencies and other 
     entities involved in law enforcement and other security-
     related activities.) The act also would require the 
     department to establish a framework for operators of 
     transportation facilities to follow in establishing centers 
     to integrate and oversee daily operations and authorize DRS 
     to provide training to nonfederally enforcement agencies.
       The act does not specify how DHS should prioritize the 
     assignment of its employees, but based on information from 
     the department about current staffing levels, CBO expects 
     that providing the envisioned level of support to fusion 
     centers would require additional federal personnel. Using 
     information from DHS, CBO estimates that as many as 36 such 
     centers oversee high-risk transportation-related assets. For 
     this estimate, CBO assumes that DRS would deploy one full-
     time employee (at an average annual cost of about $175,000) 
     to each of those centers. Assuming the department would hire 
     additional staff gradually over the next year, CBO estimates 
     that implementing the legislation would cost $3 million in 
     2019 and $2l million over the next five years. Costs could be 
     higher or lower depending on how many employees DRS 
     determines are necessary to work with the fusion centers and 
     carry out other activities under the act.


                      PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS

       None.


           INCREASE IN LONG-TERM DIRECT SPENDING AND DEFICITS

       CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5089 would not increase 
     net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
     consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.


                                MANDATES

       H.R. 5089 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
     mandates as defined in UMRA.


                          ESTIMATE PREPARED BY

       Federal Costs: Megan Carroll; Mandates: Jon Sperl.


                          ESTIMATE APPROVED BY

       H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
     Analysis.

                          ____________________