Description:
S. 2202 would authorize appropriations totaling $452 million over the 2019-2022 period (and $115 million in 2023) for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). (By comparison, the Congress provided $106 million for the NTSB in 2017.) That agency is responsible for investigating significant accidents that occur in civil aviation and other modes of surface, rail, and waterborne transportation and for recommending safety measures for preventing future accidents.
Based on historical spending patterns, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $427 million over the 2019-2022 period and an additional $138 million after 2022, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2202 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 2022 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The bill would impose a private-sector mandate by requiring air carriers to provide notification and support services to the families of people killed in air accidents. Current law requires air carriers to provide services when there is a major loss of life. According to the NTSB, most air carriers already provide such services in the event of non-major accidents. Therefore, CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be minimal and would fall well below the threshold for private-sector mandates established in UMRA ($156 million in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).
