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## 

## The Money Monitor

#### **The only document that tracks the costs of bills [as they pass the House]{.underline}**

### 

### **Week of May 21-25, 2007**

![](media/image2.png){width="3.7263888888888888in"
height="1.3729166666666666in"}

Five-year cost of authorizations passed by the House *this
[week]{.underline}*:

**\$503,000,000.00**

> H.R. 1525 Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act \$40.0 million
>
> H.R. 1427 Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (GSE bill) -\$22.0
> million
>
> H.R. 2264 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing
>
> and exporting cartels illegal \$20.0 million
>
> H.R. 1660 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish
>
> a national cemetery for veterans in the southern
>
> Colorado region \$41.0 million
>
> H.R. 1100 Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Boundary
>
> Revision Act \$7.0 million
>
> H.R. 67 Veterans Outreach Improvement Act \$75.0 million
>
> H.R. 612 Returning Servicemember VA Healthcare Insurance Act \$120.0
> million
>
> H.R. 1470 Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act \$77.0
> million
>
> H.R. 2199 Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and
>
> Long-Term Support Act \$140.0 million
>
> H.R. 2316 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act \$5.0 million

TOTAL FIVE-YEAR COST OF THIS WEEK'S AUTHORIZATIONS \$503.0 million

**[Previously Unavailable Cost Estimates from Earlier
Bills]{.underline}**

> H.R. 1867 National Science Foundation Authorization Act \$20,972.0
> million

H.R. 890 Student Loan Sunshine Act \$2.5 million

TOTAL FIVE-YEAR COST OF EARLIER AUTHORIZATIONS \$20,974.5 million

Five-year cost of authorizations passed by the House *this
[year]{.underline}*:

**\$97,404,850,000.00\***

\* This figure does not include the authorizations contained in:

-   **H.R. 1538** (Wounded Warrior Assistance Act), as it passed the
    House the week of March 26^th^;

-   **H.R. 1361** (RECOVER Act), which passed the House the week of
    April 16^th^;

-   **H.R. 1429** (Improving Head Start Act), which passed the House
    with amendments the week of April 30^th^;

-   **H.R. 1737** (City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act),
    **H.R. 1684** (Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for
    Fiscal Year 2008), or **H.R. 1873** (Small Business Fairness in
    Contracting Act), all of which passed the House the week of May
    7^th^; or

-   **H.R. 1585** (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
    2008), which passed the House with many amendments during the week
    of May 14^th^.

When final cost estimates become available, the RSC will update *The
Money Monitor* accordingly.

Five-year change in mandatory spending passed by the House *this
[week]{.underline}*:

**\$2,720,000,000.00**

> H.R. 1427 Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (GSE bill) \$2,720.0
> million

TOTAL FIVE-YEAR CHANGE IN MANDATORY SPENDING \$2,720.0 million

Five-year change in mandatory spending passed by the House *this
[year]{.underline}*:

**-\$603,750,000.00**^\#^

^\#^ This figure does not include the mandatory spending contained in
**H.R. 1585** (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008),
which passed the House the week of May 14^th^. When a final cost
estimate becomes available, the RSC will update *The Money Monitor*
accordingly.

One-year cost of appropriations passed by the House *this
[week]{.underline}*:

######## 

######## Fiscal Year 2006: \$0.00

######## Fiscal Year 2007: \$0.00

######## Fiscal Year 2008: \$0.00

######## Fiscal Year 2009: \$0.00

**Note: To prevent double-counting, the Money Monitor does not track
conference reports**

**or bills that pass the House more than once in similar formats.**

One-year cost of appropriations passed by the House *this
[year]{.underline}*:

######## Fiscal Year 2006: \$0.00

######## Fiscal Year 2007: \$587,786,000,000.00

######## Fiscal Year 2008: \$23,158,000,000.00

######## Fiscal Year 2009: \$0.00

Five-year change in revenue passed by the House *this
[week]{.underline}*:

**\$2,720,000,000.00**

> H.R. 1427 Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (GSE bill) \$2,720.0
> million

TOTAL FIVE-YEAR CHANGE IN REVENUES THIS WEEK \$2,720.0 million

Five-year change in revenue passed by the House *this
[year]{.underline}*:

**-\$326,000,000.00**

**[GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS IN THE MONEY MONITOR]{.underline}**

[Authorization]{.underline}: An authorization (otherwise known as
"discretionary spending") explicitly [allows]{.underline}, but does not
actually provide, funding for a certain program, and/or directs a
federal agency to take a certain action. Authorizations express the
House's *[intent]{.underline}* to spend, however, actual funding is
provided through the annual appropriations process. Think of an
authorization like your credit card's credit limit. If it's \$10,000,
that doesn't mean you've spent \$10,000, but it does mean that you're
*allowed* to spend \$10,000. Further action by you is needed for the
money to actually be spent.

[Mandatory Spending]{.underline}: Mandatory spending (otherwise known as
"direct spending") directly provides for funding. No subsequent action
is required for the money to be spent. Think of mandatory spending like
signing up for an automatic-bill-payment program. The very act of
signing up provides for the payments from your credit card or bank
account without further action from you.

[Appropriation]{.underline}: An appropriation is an amount of money that
Congress orders to be set aside for a certain purpose, function, or
entity. The "appropriations process" commonly refers to passing the
composite bills that provide discretionary funds to various federal
agencies (see "Authorization" above). Think of an appropriation like an
individual purchase on your credit card.

[Revenue]{.underline}: Revenue refers to the amount of money that the
federal government receives in taxes, fees, sales of property, and other
sources of *incoming* funds. Think of revenue like the income from your
job, the sale of your car, etc.

**[NOTES ON PROCEDURES & ASSUMPTIONS IN THE MONEY MONITOR]{.underline}**

[Neither the costs of conference reports nor the costs of bills that
have already been recorded under substantively similar House-passed
legislation this year are recorded here]{.underline}. "The Money
Monitor," which operates as an annual document, only accounts for the
costs of bills as they [first]{.underline} pass the House (unless the
prior bills related to such reports and bills have not come to the floor
during this calendar year or unless they contain significant cost
changes BEFORE going to the Senate).

**[In short, "The Money Monitor" primarily tracks the House's *original*
monetary intent each calendar year]{.underline}.**

##### 

Authorizations with no [net]{.underline} cost, bills that would result
in no significant [net]{.underline} change in mandatory spending or
federal revenue, and private-sector costs from federal mandates are not
reported here.

The figures for revenue changes are from **"static"** estimates by the
Joint Committee on Taxation or the Congressional Budget Office. That is,
they do not take into account the stimulative effects that certain tax
cuts and certain other revenue reductions have on the national economy.

All numbers in "The Money Monitor" are positive unless otherwise
indicated.

Most estimates are provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
though some are provided by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the
referring House committee, or RSC staff calculations.

##### Staff contact: Paul Teller, [paul.teller@mail.house.gov]{.underline}, 202-226-9718