S. 1203 contains provisions that would modify employment and compensation levels at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), expand training for medical staff, and require the agency to post additional material on its website. In total, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $124 million over the 2016-2020 period, subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts.
In addition, enacting S. 1203 would reduce administrative costs for veterans’ education benefits and restore such benefits to a small number of military personnel who were unable to complete a term of instruction because of certain types of deployments. In total, those changes would decrease direct spending by $60 million over the 2016-2025 period.
Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
S. 1203 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would benefit public institutions of higher education that participate in educational programs under the GI Bill. Any costs those entities might incur, including reductions in fee payments from VA, would be incurred as conditions of participating in a voluntary federal program.
