H.R. 5227 would authorize the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to provide playback equipment in all formats, rather than only sound-reproduction recordings as authorized under current law. In addition, the bill would create a “stewardship fund” that would consist of amounts transferred from the Library of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol, as well as from appropriations. Those funds would be used to prepare collection materials of the Library of Congress for long-term storage and to equip and acquire storage facilities. The bill also would make some changes to the membership of the Joint Committee of the Library of Congress.
CBO estimates that creating the stewardship fund would increase direct spending by $5 million over the 2017-2026 period because it would allow the Architect of the Capitol to transfer amounts to the fund that have already been appropriated but would expire and remain unspent under current law. Amounts in the fund would be available indefinitely. Because amounts appropriated to the Library of Congress are available for obligation for a shorter period of time, CBO expects that no previously appropriated amounts would be available to transfer to the new stewardship fund by the time that fund is operational.
Because H.R. 5227 would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5227 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 5227 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.
