H.R. 1769 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a national center to conduct research on health conditions affecting descendants of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service in the armed forces. The bill also would create an advisory board to oversee and provide support to the center. CBO estimates that implementing those provisions would cost $74 million over the 2017-2021 period, subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts. Another provision would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to review a potentially large number of records, with the goal of declassifying material related to the exposure of service members to toxic substances. CBO cannot provide an estimate of the cost of implementing that provision.
Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply because enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1769 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 1769 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
