Description:
H.R. 5273 would require the Administration to establish and implement an interagency initiative to stabilize and prevent violence in conflict-prone areas of the world. The bill also would require the Administration to develop 10-year plans to coordinate federal efforts under the initiative in at least six countries or regions that are prone to conflict. Finally, H.R. 5273 would require the Government Accountability Office and the Administration to provide regular briefings and reports to the Congress. Earlier this year, the Departments of State and Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development released the Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR), which outlined a framework for directing federal efforts to stabilize countries affected by conflict. The Department of State indicated that the interagency initiative required under the bill would build on the SAR and would be accomplished through other current programs. However, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the 10-year plans would require the equivalent of two additional employees: one stationed overseas at an average annual cost of about $500,000, and one located in Washington, D.C., at an average annual cost of $160,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5273 would cost about $1 million each year and total $3 million over the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Actual costs could differ if the Congress appropriates more or less than the amounts estimated here; such decisions could be based on information from federal agencies or other sources that differs from the information CBO used for this estimate. Enacting H.R. 5273 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5273 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. H.R. 5273 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
