I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 707 

To require the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce 

to provide estimates relating to the distribution of aggregate economic 

growth across specific percentile groups of income. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2019 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. BEYER, Ms. 

ADAMS, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. NORTON, 

Mr. KHANNA, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SWALWELL

of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, and Mr. GARAMENDI) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To require the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce to provide estimates relating to the 

distribution of aggregate economic growth across specific 

percentile groups of income. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring Real In5 come Growth Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Economic inequality in the United States 

4 has increased dramatically during the 4 decades pre5 ceding the date of enactment of this Act, with fewer 

6 households taking home a larger share of the na7 tional income. 

8 (2) While growth was once distributed relatively 

9 evenly across all individuals in the United States, re10 search shows that economic gains are increasingly 

11 enjoyed by the most affluent. By contrast, the ma12 jority of individuals in the United States have seen 

13 income and wage growth significantly below what is 

14 suggested by national measures of output and in15 come. 

16 (3) The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the 

17 Department of Commerce (referred to in this section 

18 as ‘‘BEA’’) reports annual and quarterly estimates 

19 of gross domestic product (referred to in this section 

20 as ‘‘GDP’’) in the United States. These estimates 

21 are important measures of the overall size and 

22 health of the economy of the United States but do 

23 not describe how economic gains are distributed 

24 across the population of the United States. 

25 (4) In a country of 325,000,000 individuals, 

26 top-line GDP numbers do not capture the full range 


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1 of household economic experiences and may be mis2 leading. The real GDP grew more than 3 percent 

3 annually between 2003 and 2005, but the average 

income for 1 4 ⁄2 of all individuals in the United States 

5 fell during that period. 

6 (5) Disaggregating economic growth by income 

7 groups will provide a more complete picture of how 

8 families in the United States are faring across all 

9 rungs of the economic ladder and whether economic 

10 growth is benefiting all individuals in the United 

11 States. 

12 (6) Recent academic estimates of distributional 

13 growth show how much of the economic gains during 

14 the 40 years preceding the date of enactment of this 

15 Act have accrued to the top of the income distribu16 tion. Between 1980 and 2014, the average income of 

17 the top 1 percent of the income distribution grew 5 

18 times as much as the average income of the bottom 

19 90 percent of the income distribution and more than 

20 9 times as much as the average income of the bottom 1 21 ⁄2. 

22 (7) Official and timely estimates of distribu23 tional growth from BEA, reported alongside top-line 

24 GDP numbers, would enable Congress to better 


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1 evaluate economic policies that impact every indi2 vidual in the United States. 

3 (8) Efforts to address slow wage growth, stag4 nant incomes, and growing economic inequality re5 quire broadening the focus beyond GDP and obtain6 ing metrics that better correspond to the experiences 

7 of all families in the United States. 

8 SEC. 3. ESTIMATES OF AGGREGATE ECONOMIC GROWTH 

9 ACROSS INCOME GROUPS. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

12 Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of 

13 Commerce. 

14 (2) GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT ANALYSIS.— 

15 The term ‘‘gross domestic product analysis’’— 

16 (A) means a quarterly or annual analysis 

17 conducted by the Bureau with respect to the 

18 gross domestic product of the United States; 

19 and 

20 (B) includes a revision prepared by the 

21 Bureau of an analysis described in subpara22 graph (A). 

23 (3) RECENT ESTIMATE.—The term ‘‘recent es24 timate’’ means the most recent estimate described in 

25 subsection (b) that is available on the date on which 


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1 the gross domestic product analysis with which the 

2 estimate is to be included is conducted. 

3 (b) INCLUSION IN REPORTS.—Beginning in 2020, in 

4 each gross domestic product analysis conducted by the Bu5 reau, the Bureau shall include a recent estimate of, with 

6 respect to specific percentile groups of income, the total 

7 amount that was added to the economy of the United 

8 States during the period to which the recent estimate per9 tains, including in— 

10 (1) each of the 10 deciles of income; and 

11 (2) the highest 1 percent of income. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com14 merce such sums as are necessary to carry out this sec15 tion. 

Æ 


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