H.R. 1823 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to the Congress on the causes of funding shortfalls in appropriation accounts for health care, disability compensation, and education benefits that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) anticipated would occur in 2024 and 2025. The bill also would require GAO to report annually, for five years, VA’s spending plans for those accounts, deviations from those spending plans, and transfers from those accounts.

Based on the costs of similar studies and reports, CBO estimates that fulfilling the bill’s reporting requirements would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025-2029 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Noah Callahan. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.