Description:
H.R. 1568 would authorize the appropriation of $5.3 million annually from 2019 through 2029 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide competitive grants for projects to conserve a particular species of whales, known as the North Atlantic right whales, ($5.0 million) and to conduct surveys using a device known as a continuous plankton recorder on an ongoing basis ($0.3 million). Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R 1568 would cost $50 million over the 2019-2029 period and $3 million after 2029. The costs of the legislation, detailed in the attached table, would fall into budget function 300 (natural resources and environment). Under the bill, NOAA also would be authorized to accept and spend monetary gifts to supplement appropriated funds provided for the right whale conservation grants. The receipt and spending of such gifts are recorded in the budget as direct spending. Because any money received would probably be spent soon thereafter, CBO estimates that the net effect on direct spending would be negligible.
