S. 2878 would reauthorize the appropriation of $15 million each year from 2026 through 2030 for the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor, assess, and research activities in support of the binational fisheries within the Great Lakes Basin. Under current law, that authority expired at the end of 2025. In 2024, the Congress provided $15 million for those activities.
CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted early in fiscal year 2026 and that the specified amounts will be provided in each year. Based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $70 million over the 2026‑2030 period and $5 million after 2030.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
Table 1.
Estimated Increases in Spending Subject to Appropriation Under S. 2878
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2026-2030
Authorization
15
15
15
15
15
75
Estimated Outlays
11
14
15
15
15
70
On August 19, 2025, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1809, the Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 15, 2025. The two bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emilia Oliva. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel
Director, Congressional Budget Office