Description:
H.R. 3298 would amend title IV of the Social Security Act to appropriate $3.9 billion for the Child Care Entitlement program in each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, providing a total appropriation of $7.8 billion. Consistent with the rules specified in section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Deficit Control Act), CBO assumes that the changes made to that program would continue after 2021, the final year of authorization under the bill. The child care program is currently authorized through June 30, 2019, at an annualized rate of $2.9 billion. CBO’s baseline projections include the assumption that the program will continue at that level of funding consistent with the rules in the Deficit Control Act. Thus, relative to CBO’s baseline, H.R. 3298 would increase funding for the program by $1 billion annually. Accordingly, and based on historical spending patterns for that program, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3298 would increase direct spending by $9.7 billion over the 2019-2029 period. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3298 would increase net direct spending and on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in all four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2030. The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 3298 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 600 (income security).
