Description:
H.R. 3153 would authorize the appropriation of $10 million annually over the 2020-2024 period for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support research on the science of opioid addiction. Using information from the NSF, CBO estimates that the agency allocated $5 million in 2019 for those purposes. Because CBO estimates the budgetary effects of continuing resolutions on an annualized basis, in 2020 CBO assumes that the NSF will allocate the same amount from funds made available under the current continuing resolution (Public Law 116-69). As a result, CBO estimates that H.R. 3153 would authorize an increase in spending subject to appropriation in 2020 of $5 million, the difference between the authorized amount and the annualized amount under the continuing resolution. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, and based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $27 million over the 2020-2024 period and $18 million after 2024. The costs of the legislation (detailed in Table 1) fall within budget function 250 (science, space, and technology).
