H.R. 1960, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Preliminary estimate of the direct spending and revenue effects of H.R. 1960 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Armed Services on June 6, 2013.

Based on legislative language for H.R. 1960 that was provided to CBO from May 30 through June 5, CBO estimates that enacting this bill would decrease net direct spending by $26 million in 2014, $18 million over the 2014-2018 period, and $2 million over the 2014-2023 period (see attached table). Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.

The largest costs over that 10-year period result from a provision that would authorize special immigrant visas for certain Iraqi and Afghan allies and a provision that would increase spending from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund to acquire additional materials. H.R. 1960 also would increase spending for Tricare beneficiaries whose eligibility derives from service in the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Uniformed Corps of the Public Health Service and for loan guarantees made by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Those costs would be offset by savings from a provision that would modify the calculation for computing the amount of the initial retirement benefit for certain military retirees.

Enacting H.R. 1960 also would decrease revenues by requiring that certain payments made to a small number of servicemembers be treated as nontaxable income; however, CBO estimates that those effects would be insignificant for each year.