CBO Scores Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act

The Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act of 2013 (H.R. 2952) would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within 180 days of the bill’s enactment, to transmit to the Congress a strategic plan for research and development efforts addressing the protection of critical infrastructure and a report on departmental use of public-private consortiums to develop technology to protect such infrastructure. The bill also would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO), within two years of enactment, to evaluate the effectiveness of clearinghouses established by DHS to share technological innovation. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates the DHS and GAO reports required by H.R. 2952 would cost less than $500,000 annually in 2014 and 2015, assuming availability of appropriated funds.