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OMB COST ESTIMATE
FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO CALCULATIONS

Report No: 562
Date: 12/13/2001

  1. LAW NUMBER: P.L.107-56 (H.R. 3162)

  2. BILL TITLE: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act

  3. BILL PURPOSE: Enhances law enforcement tools available to Federal agencies to investigate, deter, and punish terrorist acts in and outside the United States.

    4.  

  4. OMB ESTIMATE: P.L.107-56 increases the benefit level for payments made by the Public Safety Officer's Benefit Program. The Act makes the increase retroactive to the beginning of 2001 and thus covers the payments for police and fire personnel killed in the World Trade Center attacks. The Act also provides authority to spend Crime Victims Fund balances beyond the previously established cap for 2001 and makes changes to the spending pattern for the fund in the future. Because OMB's baseline assumed all balances in the Fund would be depleted during 2002, the change in future spending pattern has no scoreable effect. In addition, the Act makes other changes, including new penalties and fines, that have an insignificant effect on receipts and outlays.

    5.  

    (Fiscal years; in millions of dollars)
    2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
    Net costs.................................... 0 117 24 21 17 23

     

  5. CBO ESTIMATE:
    6. (Fiscal years; in millions of dollars)
    2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
    Net costs.................................... 0 104 -220 -174 173 271

    The Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Act for 2002, which was signed after the USA PATRIOT Act, placed a cap on Crime Victims Fund spending for 2002. CBO scores the effect of the changes in the Crime Victims Fund versus a baseline that incorporates the impact of the Appropriations Act.

     

  6. EXPLANATION OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OMB AND CBO ESTIMATES:

    7. Nearly all of the difference between OMB and CBO estimates is the result of different baseline assumptions for the Crime Victims Fund. OMB scores against a baseline that reflects law at the time this Act became law. CBO scores against a baseline that incorporates the effect of the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Act that was subsequently signed by the President.

  7. CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUE LEGISLATION ENACTED TO DATE:
    8. (Fiscal years; in millions of dollars)
    2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
    Outlay effect.............. 5,503 16,763 20,298 21,035 22,088 7,436
    Receipt effect............ -69,501 -35,132 -84,624 -103,812 -104,966 -123,403
    Net costs.................... 75,004 51,895 104,922 124,847 127,054 130,839

    NOTE: The cumulative effect of direct spending and revenue legislation enacted to date is currently estimated to result in an end-of-session sequester. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to ensure that an unintended sequester does not occur.