H.R. 1654, a bill to authorize the direct provision of defense articles, defense services, and related training to the Kurdistan Regional Government, and for other purposes

H.R. 1654 would authorize the President to provide defense articles, services, and training directly to the regional government of Kurdistan, in the north of Iraq. It also would authorize the President to issue licenses to exporters allowing them to provide items and training directly to that government. Finally, the bill would require the President to report to the Congress on the use of that authority.

Under current law, the Departments of Defense and State route all security assistance to the regional government of Kurdistan and other regional entities through the government of Iraq. Based on information from the administration, CBO expects that enacting the bill would not change that current practice, and that there would be no additional assistance provided to the regional government of Kurdistan. CBO estimates that reporting to the Congress would cost less than $500,000 over the 2016-2020 period.

Enacting H.R. 1654 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1654 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.

H.R. 1654 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.