[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 161 (Friday, September 28, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COST ESTIMATE ON H.R. 6374 FIT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 28, 2018

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, the following cost estimate for H.R. 6374, 
FIT Act prepared by the Congressional Budget Office was not available 
to the Committee at the time of filing of the legislative report.
                                               September 11, 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. 6374, the 
     Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     please to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
     Grabowicz.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Keith Hall.
       Enclosure.
     H.R. 6374--Fitness Information Transparency Act of 2018
       H.R. 6374 would direct the Department of Homeland Security 
     (DHS), within 180 days of enactment, to issue uniform fitness 
     (or conduct) standards for hiring contract employees that 
     must be followed by all DHS agencies. Within one year of 
     enactment, DHS would have to provide contractors with monthly 
     updates on the status of their employees' fitness 
     determinations and collect quarterly data on processing times 
     for fitness investigations.
       Using information from DHS, CBO estimates that implementing 
     those provisions would cost about $1 million in fiscal year 
     2019 and less than $500,000 annually thereafter; such 
     spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
     funds. Most costs would be for technological enhancements to 
     a system to provide accurate monthly updates on the status of 
     contract employees' fitness determinations. DHS currently 
     employs thousands of contract employees.
       Enacting H.R. 6374 would not affect direct spending or 
     revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
       CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6374 would not increase 
     net direct spending or on budget deficits in any of the four 
     consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
       H.R. 6374 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
     mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
       The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
     The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
     Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

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