As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on October 30, 2013
H.R. 2799 would establish a committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on issues related to wildlife conservation and hunting. The bill also would abolish the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (WHHCC), an existing body that performs similar activities to those that would be performed by the committee established under the bill. CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2799 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the costs of administering the WHHCC, CBO estimates that administering the advisory committee established under the bill would cost roughly $300,000 a year, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Those funds would be used to hire a full-time employee to handle administrative duties for the committee and to reimburse members of the committee for travel and lodging expenses related to committee activities. CBO also estimates that any costs associated with administering the committee would be offset by reductions in spending subject to appropriation to fund activities of the WHHCC, which would be abolished under the bill.
H.R. 2799 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
