Pursuant to clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate for H.R. 3726, as amended, provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
The bill would: Expand eligibility for temporary lodging provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Fisher House Foundation to certain service members, veterans, and accompanying family members Extend the reduction of pensions that VA pays to veterans and survivors residing in Medicaid nursing homes Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from: Increasing the use of Fisher House lodging Reducing pension payments Bill summary: H.R. 3726 would expand eligibility for temporary lodging provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Fisher House Foundation to certain active-duty service members, veterans, and accompanying family members. In addition, the bill would extend a temporary limitation on certain pension payments through July 31, 2033. Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 3726 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget functions 550 (health) and 700 (veterans benefits and services).
Estimated Budget Authority * * * * 1 * * -5 * * * 1 -4 Estimated Outlays * * * * 1 * * -5 * * * 1 -4
INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 3726 will be enacted in fiscal year 2026 and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns for affected programs. Provisions that affect direct spending and spending subject to appropriation: The bill would expand eligibility for temporary lodging provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the Fisher House Foundation to certain active-duty service members, veterans, and family members traveling long distances for care. VA Fisher Houses currently have the capacity to accommodate more guests in existing facilities; thus, CBO expects that implementing the bill would increase costs associated with greater use, such as cleaning, utilities, and administrative support. On the basis of information from VA on current vacancy rates and costs per night of similar types of lodging, CBO estimates that the bill would result in approximately 10,000 additional nights of lodging annually at an average cost of about $60 per night. In total, providing those additional nights of lodging would cost $6 million over the 2026-2036 period. VA uses several appropriation accounts to pay for the costs of health care, disability claims processing, medical research, and information technology (IT) modernization. One of those accounts, the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF), is a mandatory appropriation that can be used to pay for some of the costs of those activities if they support veterans who were exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards.\1\ The other accounts are discretionary appropriations. H.R. 3726 would affect health care that benefits veterans with and without toxic exposures; therefore, enacting the bill would increase direct spending from the TEF as well as spending subject to appropriation. CBO allocates the estimated costs of legislation between the TEF and the discretionary appropriation accounts on the basis of the portion of all funding for those activities that are projected, in CBO's baseline, to come from the TEF. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\For additional information about estimated spending from the TEF, see Congressional Budget Office, ``Toxic Exposures Fund--February 2026 Baseline'' (February 2026), https://tinyurl.com/5c2kp8fs, and How CBO Would Estimate the Effects of Future Authorizing Legislation on Spending From the Toxic Exposures Fund (December 2022), www.cbo.gov/ publication/58843. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On that basis, CBO estimates that over the 2026-2036 period, expanding the eligibility for temporary lodging under H.R. 3726 would increase direct spending by $2 million and spending subject to appropriation by $4 million. Direct spending: In addition to expanding access to temporary lodging, enacting H.R. 3726 would affect direct spending by extending a statutory limitation on VA pension payments. In total, enacting the bill would decrease net direct spending by $4 million over the 2026-2036 period (see Table 2). Pensions and Medicaid. Under current law, VA reduces pension payments to veterans and survivors who reside in Medicaid nursing homes to $90 per month. That required reduction expires January 31, 2033. H.R. 3726 would extend that reduction for 6 months, through July 31, 2033. CBO estimates that extending that requirement would reduce VA benefits by $2 million per month. As a result of that reduction in beneficiaries' income, Medicaid would pay more of the cost of their care, increasing spending for that program by $1 million per month. Thus, enacting the provision would reduce net direct spending by $6 million over the 2026-2036 period.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in direct spending outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table2. Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3726 would not increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3726 would not increase on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037. Mandates: The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Noah Callahan (for veterans' health care), Logan Smith (for pensions and Medicaid); Mandates: Brandon Lever. Estimate reviewed by: David Newman, Chief, Defense, International Affairs, and Veterans' Affairs Cost Estimates Unit; Kathleen FitzGerald, Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit; Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis. Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office.