[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    CBO COST ESTIMATE ON H.R. 1838, TAIWAN SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Green of Wisconsin). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, set forth below is the cost estimate of the 
Congressional Budget Office on H.R. 1838, the ``Taiwan Security 
Enhancement Act.'' This estimate was not available on October 28, 1999, 
when the Committee on International Relations filed its report on H.R. 
1838.

 Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate--H.R. 1838, Taiwan Security 
                            Enhancement Act

       H.R. 1838 would emphasize the security relationship between 
     the United States and Taiwan. Specifically, the bill would 
     authorize an increase in the technical staff at the American 
     Institute in Taiwan, and would require the Administration to 
     report on Taiwan's defense needs, its security situation, and 
     the United States' ability to respond to contingencies in the 
     Asia-Pacific region. Also, the bill would require the 
     Administration to enhance the opportunities for training and 
     exchanges of Taiwanese officers at U.S. military schools and 
     academies. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have no 
     significant budgetary effect.
       According to the Department of Defense (DoD), implementing 
     H.R. 1838 would not require any additional staff because DoD 
     has already increased the number of technical staff at the 
     American Institute in Taiwan during the last year. CBO 
     estimates that preparing the required reports would not 
     increase costs significantly, and any additional officer 
     training and exchanges would be paid in full by Taiwan. The 
     funds for training and exchanges would flow through the 
     foreign military sales trust fund--a direct spending account. 
     Because the bill could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go 
     procedures would apply; however, CBO estimates that the net 
     effect of any increase in collections and outlays would not 
     be significant.
       H.R. 1838 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
     mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
     would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
     governments.
       The estimate was prepared by Joseph C. Whitehill. The 
     estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

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