Description:
Under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may issue a biological opinion on whether a federal agency action—such as the permitting of a construction project—is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a species or result in habitat modification or destruction. H.R. 6346 would require USFWS and NOAA to consider in those opinions any offsetting effects of protection and conservation measures already in place or that are proposed as part of the agency action. CBO expects that under the bill, the agencies would issue a rule on how they would implement the new requirement. Based on the costs of similar tasks, CBO estimates that those costs would be less than $500,000 over the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 6346 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6346 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. H.R. 6346 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
