Description:
H.R. 4323 would modify the requirements and selection criteria of certain National Science Foundation (NSF) programs to promote wider participation by veterans. The legislation also would require the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish a working group to coordinate federal programs for transitioning veterans into careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and to develop a strategic plan to address barriers to STEM careers for veterans. Using information from the NSF and OSTP, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $1 million over the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Most of those costs would be for OSTP staff to manage working group activities and to prepare the strategic plan. Enacting H.R. 4323 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4323 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. H.R. 4323 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. On December 5, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 4323, the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on November 15, 2017. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
