Featured in this week's edition of the Taxpayer's Tab are some of the most recent bills to come across our desks here at NTUF. As part of our BillTally research project, we've been scoring the latest proposals from lawmakers in Congress to give taxpayers an idea of what sort of impact certain legislation could have on the federal budget.
The largest net savings bill this week was the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, introduced by Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA). Essentially, H.R. 527 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management to sell helium supplies in the Federal Helium Reserve to pay for the cost of operating the Reserve. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill could generate a net of $410 million in offsetting receipts over 5 years, or $82 million per year.
Also featured this week:
- Most Expensive: Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) introduced S. 627, the Medical Innovation Prize Fund Act, which would attempt to reform the way the U.S. pharmaceutical sector operates and would increase federal spending by $433.9 billion over 5 years, or $108.5 billion annually.
- Most Friended: H.R. 1562, the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, was introduced by Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) and had 140 cosponsors. It would not affect federal spending.
- Wildcard: H.R. 1609/S. 750, the Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2013, was introduced by Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in their respective chambers. The legislation would authorize funding for programs on college campuses that increase awareness of proper fire safety procedures. It would increase federal spending by $75 million over 5 years, or $15 million annually.
For more information on these bills and their sponsors, check out the Tab online here. To receive future updates via email, sign up for the Tab by clicking here.