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H.R. 3361, USA FREEDOM Act - Judiciary 1 (May 14, 2104)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo1670 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
0'                         COST ESTIMATE
May 14, 2014
H.R. 3361
USA FREEDOM Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on May 7, 2014
H.R. 3361 would make several amendments to investigative and surveillance authorities
of the United States government, and would specify the conditions under which the
federal government may conduct certain types of surveillance. CBO does not provide
estimates for classified programs; therefore, this estimate addresses only the unclassified
aspects of the bill. On that limited basis, CBO estimates implementing H.R. 3361 would
cost approximately $15 million over the 2015-2019 period, subject to the appropriation of
the necessary amounts.
Enacting H.R. 3361 also could affect direct spending and revenues; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The bill could potentially result in additional criminal
penalties because it would extend for two years the authority of the government to
conduct surveillance in certain instances. Such penalties are recorded as revenues,
deposited in the Crime Victims Fund, and later spent. However, CBO anticipates that any
amounts collected would be minimal and the net impact would be insignificant.
Effects on the Federal Budget
The bill would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Those
amendments would affect the operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
(FISC) and the Judiciary. First, H.R. 3361 would permit the FISC to appoint an amicus
curiae, or friend of the court, to assist the court when the government makes an
application under FISA that presents a novel or significant interpretation of FISA. Second,
the bill would limit collection of telephone call records, thereby requiring the intelligence
agencies-acting through the Department of Justice-to seek additional warrants from
the FISC to access such data. Finally, the bill would require an annual report by the
Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), providing data on
certain types of FISA orders. Based on information from the AOUSC, CBO estimates
that implementing those requirements would cost approximately $5 million over the
2015-2019 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.

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