113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 96 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), 

3 SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET 

4 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015. 

5 (a) DECLARATION.—The Congress determines and 

6 declares that this concurrent resolution establishes the 
2 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 budget for fiscal year 2015 and sets forth appropriate 

2 budgetary levels for fiscal years 2016 through 2024. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 this concurrent resolution is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2015. 

TITLE I—RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS 

Sec. 101. Recommended levels and amounts. 

Sec. 102. Major functional categories. 

TITLE II—RECOMMENDED LONG-TERM LEVELS 

Sec. 201. Long-term budgeting. 

TITLE III—RESERVE FUNDS 

Sec. 301. Reserve fund for the repeal of the 2010 health care laws. 

Sec. 302. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the reform of the 2010 health care 

laws. 

Sec. 303. Deficit-neutral reserve fund related to the Medicare provisions of the 

2010 health care laws. 

Sec. 304. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the sustainable growth rate of the 

Medicare program. 

Sec. 305. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reforming the tax code. 

Sec. 306. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for trade agreements. 

Sec. 307. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for revenue measures. 

Sec. 308. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for rural counties and schools. 

Sec. 309. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for transportation. 

Sec. 310. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to reduce poverty and increase opportunity and upward mobility. 

TITLE IV—ESTIMATES OF DIRECT SPENDING 

Sec. 401. Direct spending. 

TITLE V—BUDGET ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 501. Limitation on advance appropriations. 

Sec. 502. Concepts and definitions. 

Sec. 503. Adjustments of aggregates, allocations, and appropriate budgetary 

levels. 

Sec. 504. Limitation on long-term spending. 

Sec. 505. Budgetary treatment of certain transactions. 

Sec. 506. Application and effect of changes in allocations and aggregates. 

Sec. 507. Congressional Budget Office estimates. 

Sec. 508. Transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway 

Trust Fund that increase public indebtedness. 

Sec. 509. Separate allocation for overseas contingency operations/global war on 

terrorism. 

Sec. 510. Exercise of rulemaking powers. 

TITLE VI—POLICY STATEMENTS 
3 

•HCON 96 EH 

Sec. 601. Policy statement on economic growth and job creation. 

Sec. 602. Policy statement on tax reform. 

Sec. 603. Policy statement on replacing the President’s health care law. 

Sec. 604. Policy statement on Medicare. 

Sec. 605. Policy statement on Social Security. 

Sec. 606. Policy statement on higher education and workforce development opportunity. 

Sec. 607. Policy statement on deficit reduction through the cancellation of unobligated balances. 

Sec. 608. Policy statement on responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. 

Sec. 609. Policy statement on deficit reduction through the reduction of unnecessary and wasteful spending. 

Sec. 610. Policy statement on unauthorized spending. 

Sec. 611. Policy statement on Federal regulatory policy. 

Sec. 612. Policy statement on trade. 

Sec. 613. No budget, no pay. 

1 TITLE I—RECOMMENDED 

2 LEVELS AND AMOUNTS 

3 SEC. 101. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS. 

4 The following budgetary levels are appropriate for 

5 each of fiscal years 2015 through 2024: 

6 (1) FEDERAL REVENUES.—For purposes of the 

7 enforcement of this concurrent resolution: 

8 (A) The recommended levels of Federal 

9 revenues are as follows: 

10 Fiscal year 2015: $2,533,841,000,000. 

11 Fiscal year 2016: $2,676,038,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2017: $2,789,423,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2018: $2,890,308,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2019: $3,014,685,000,000. 

15 Fiscal year 2020: $3,148,637,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: $3,294,650,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2022: $3,456,346,000,000. 

18 Fiscal year 2023: $3,626,518,000,000. 
4 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2024: $3,807,452,000,000. 

2 (B) The amounts by which the aggregate 

3 levels of Federal revenues should be changed 

4 are as follows: 

5 Fiscal year 2015: $0. 

6 Fiscal year 2016: $0. 

7 Fiscal year 2017: $0. 

8 Fiscal year 2018: $0. 

9 Fiscal year 2019: $0. 

10 Fiscal year 2020: $0. 

11 Fiscal year 2021: $0. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: $0. 

13 Fiscal year 2023: $0. 

14 Fiscal year 2024: $0. 

15 (2) NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY.—For purposes 

16 of the enforcement of this concurrent resolution, the 

17 appropriate levels of total new budget authority are 

18 as follows: 

19 Fiscal year 2015: $2,842,226,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2016: $2,858,059,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2017: $2,957,321,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2018: $3,059,410,000,000. 

23 Fiscal year 2019: $3,210,987,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2020: $3,360,435,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2021: $3,460,524,000,000. 
5 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2022: $3,587,380,000,000. 

2 Fiscal year 2023: $3,660,151,000,000. 

3 Fiscal year 2024: $3,706,695,000,000. 

4 (3) BUDGET OUTLAYS.—For purposes of the 

5 enforcement of this concurrent resolution, the appro6 priate levels of total budget outlays are as follows: 

7 Fiscal year 2015: $2,920,026,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2016: $2,889,484,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2017: $2,949,261,000,000. 

10 Fiscal year 2018: $3,034,773,000,000. 

11 Fiscal year 2019: $3,185,472,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: $3,320,927,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2021: $3,433,392,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2022: $3,577,963,000,000. 

15 Fiscal year 2023: $3,632,642,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2024: $3,676,374,000,000. 

17 (4) DEFICITS (ON-BUDGET).—For purposes of 

18 the enforcement of this concurrent resolution, the 

19 amounts of the deficits (on-budget) are as follows: 

20 Fiscal year 2015: -$386,186,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: -$213,446,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2017: -$159,838,000,000. 

23 Fiscal year 2018: -$144,466,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2019: -$170,787,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2020: -$172,290,000,000. 
6 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2021: -$138,741,000,000. 

2 Fiscal year 2022: -$121,617,000,000. 

3 Fiscal year 2023: -$6,124,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: $131,078,000,000. 

5 (5) DEBT SUBJECT TO LIMIT.—The appropriate 

6 levels of the public debt are as follows: 

7 Fiscal year 2015: $18,304,357,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2016: $18,627,533,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2017: $19,172,590,000,000. 

10 Fiscal year 2018: $19,411,553,000,000. 

11 Fiscal year 2019: $19,773,917,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: $20,227,349,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2021: $20,449,374,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2022: $20,822,448,000,000. 

15 Fiscal year 2023: $20,981,807,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2024: $21,089,365,000,000. 

17 (6) DEBT HELD BY THE PUBLIC.—The appro18 priate levels of debt held by the public are as follows: 

19 Fiscal year 2015: $13,213,000,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2016: $13,419,000,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2017: $13,800,000,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2018: $13,860,000,000,000. 

23 Fiscal year 2019: $14,080,000,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2020: $14,427,000,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2021: $14,579,000,000,000. 
7 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2022: $14,940,000,000,000. 

2 Fiscal year 2023: $15,080,000,000,000. 

3 Fiscal year 2024: $15,176,000,000,000. 

4 SEC. 102. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES. 

5 The Congress determines and declares that the ap6 propriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for 

7 fiscal years 2015 through 2024 for each major functional 

8 category are: 

9 (1) National Defense (050): 

10 Fiscal year 2015: 

11 (A) New budget authority, 

12 $528,927,000,000. 

13 (B) Outlays, $566,503,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2016: 

15 (A) New budget authority, 

16 $573,792,000,000. 

17 (B) Outlays, $573,064,000,000. 

18 Fiscal year 2017: 

19 (A) New budget authority, 

20 $597,895,000,000. 

21 (B) Outlays, $584,252,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2018: 

23 (A) New budget authority, 

24 $611,146,000,000. 

25 (B) Outlays, $593,795,000,000. 
8 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2019: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $624,416,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $611,902,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2020: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $638,697,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $626,175,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2021: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $653,001,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $640,499,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2022: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $669,967,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $661,181,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2023: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $687,393,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $672,922,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2024: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $706,218,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $685,796,000,000. 

25 (2) International Affairs (150): 
9 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2015: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $38,695,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $39,029,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2016: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $39,734,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $37,976,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2017: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $40,642,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $38,229,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2018: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $41,589,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $38,822,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2019: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $42,513,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $39,553,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2020: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $43,497,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $40,114,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2021: 
10 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $44,004,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $40,701,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $45,271,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $41,749,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $46,287,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $42,667,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $47,349,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $43,624,000,000. 

16 (3) General Science, Space, and Technology 

17 (250): 

18 Fiscal year 2015: 

19 (A) New budget authority, 

20 $27,941,000,000. 

21 (B) Outlays, $27,927,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2016: 

23 (A) New budget authority, 

24 $28,493,000,000. 

25 (B) Outlays, $28,240,000,000. 
11 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2017: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $29,113,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $28,750,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2018: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $29,764,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $29,350,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2019: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $30,413,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $29,938,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2020: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $31,096,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $30,589,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2021: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $31,782,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $31,174,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2022: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $32,493,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $31,870,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2023: 
12 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $33,210,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $32,576,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $33,955,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $33,304,000,000. 

8 (4) Energy (270): 

9 Fiscal year 2015: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $4,228,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $5,751,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2016: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $3,820,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $3,416,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2017: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $2,048,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $1,400,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2018: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $1,762,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $1,192,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2019: 
13 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $1,788,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $1,278,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2020: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $1,851,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $1,384,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2021: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$16,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$346,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$1,018,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$1,283,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 -$1,914,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, -$2,188,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2024: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 -$6,113,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, -$6,699,000,000. 

24 (5) Natural Resources and Environment (300): 

25 Fiscal year 2015: 
14 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $34,289,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $39,311,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2016: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $34,491,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $37,747,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2017: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $35,077,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $36,204,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2018: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $33,047,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $33,316,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2019: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $36,859,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $36,779,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2020: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $38,169,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $37,877,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2021: 
15 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $36,428,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $36,379,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $38,979,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $38,749,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $39,927,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $39,733,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $40,592,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $39,752,000,000. 

16 (6) Agriculture (350): 

17 Fiscal year 2015: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $19,042,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $19,556,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $22,506,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $22,313,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2017: 
16 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $20,527,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $19,992,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2018: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $18,506,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $17,883,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2019: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $18,654,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $17,970,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $19,008,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $18,440,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $19,263,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $18,763,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2022: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $19,764,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $19,249,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2023: 
17 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $20,017,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $19,516,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $20,635,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $20,131,000,000. 

8 (7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370): 

9 Fiscal year 2015: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 -$3,239,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, -$14,762,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2016: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 -$4,518,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, -$18,633,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2017: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 -$7,672,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, -$23,217,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2018: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 -$7,385,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, -$24,136,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2019: 
18 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 -$6,658,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, -$28,258,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2020: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$3,937,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$26,052,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2021: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$4,034,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$20,982,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$4,794,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$23,197,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 -$5,073,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, -$24,597,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2024: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 -$5,118,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, -$25,793,000,000. 

24 (8) Transportation (400): 

25 Fiscal year 2015: 
19 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $34,713,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $80,659,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2016: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $68,529,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $69,907,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2017: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $74,454,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $75,199,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2018: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $75,978,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $77,558,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2019: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $77,501,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $78,163,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2020: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $78,373,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $79,056,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2021: 
20 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $79,369,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $80,231,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $80,529,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $81,409,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $81,829,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $82,872,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $83,353,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $84,024,000,000. 

16 (9) Community and Regional Development 

17 (450): 

18 Fiscal year 2015: 

19 (A) New budget authority, 

20 $14,556,000,000. 

21 (B) Outlays, $23,608,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2016: 

23 (A) New budget authority, 

24 $15,303,000,000. 

25 (B) Outlays, $21,425,000,000. 
21 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2017: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $15,269,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $19,292,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2018: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $15,414,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $17,840,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2019: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $15,387,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $16,841,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2020: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $15,283,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $16,008,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2021: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $15,421,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $14,679,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2022: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $15,658,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $13,408,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2023: 
22 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $15,954,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $13,490,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $16,302,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $13,910,000,000. 

8 (10) Education, Training, Employment, and 

9 Social Services (500): 

10 Fiscal year 2015: 

11 (A) New budget authority, 

12 $73,908,000,000. 

13 (B) Outlays, $91,759,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2016: 

15 (A) New budget authority, 

16 $82,372,000,000. 

17 (B) Outlays, $84,521,000,000. 

18 Fiscal year 2017: 

19 (A) New budget authority, 

20 $86,699,000,000. 

21 (B) Outlays, $87,137,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2018: 

23 (A) New budget authority, 

24 $89,536,000,000. 

25 (B) Outlays, $89,808,000,000. 
23 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2019: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $85,278,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $86,074,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2020: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $86,555,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $87,130,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2021: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $87,749,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $88,403,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2022: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $89,167,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $89,839,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2023: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $90,661,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $91,360,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2024: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $92,094,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $92,926,000,000. 

25 (11) Health (550): 
24 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2015: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $419,799,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $416,573,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2016: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $367,238,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $370,205,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2017: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $377,752,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $375,839,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2018: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $376,732,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $377,346,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2019: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $390,437,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $390,404,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2020: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $415,814,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $405,309,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2021: 
25 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $419,124,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $418,298,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $433,512,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $432,149,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $449,181,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $447,991,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $472,300,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $471,312,000,000. 

16 (12) Medicare (570): 

17 Fiscal year 2015: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $519,196,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $519,407,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $558,895,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $558,964,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2017: 
26 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $570,144,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $570,341,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2018: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $590,695,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $591,117,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2019: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $651,579,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $651,878,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $692,307,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $692,644,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $737,455,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $738,042,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2022: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $815,257,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $817,195,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2023: 
27 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $836,296,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $837,883,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $859,011,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $866,262,000,000. 

8 (13) Income Security (600): 

9 Fiscal year 2015: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $505,729,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $505,032,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2016: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $487,645,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $490,122,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2017: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $489,766,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $487,105,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2018: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $492,129,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $484,280,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2019: 
28 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $493,996,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $490,014,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2020: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $512,717,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $508,689,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2021: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $520,016,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $515,475,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $529,438,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $529,111,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $530,839,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $525,624,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2024: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $525,701,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $515,225,000,000. 

24 (14) Social Security (650): 

25 Fiscal year 2015: 
29 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $31,442,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $31,517,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2016: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $34,245,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $34,283,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2017: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $37,133,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $37,133,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2018: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $40,138,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $40,138,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2019: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $43,383,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $43,383,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2020: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $46,747,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $46,747,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2021: 
30 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $50,255,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $50,255,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $53,941,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $53,941,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $57,800,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $57,800,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $58,441,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $58,441,000,000. 

16 (15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700): 

17 Fiscal year 2015: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $153,027,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $152,978,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $164,961,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $164,807,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2017: 
31 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $163,858,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $163,269,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2018: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $162,388,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $161,646,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2019: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $174,305,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $173,499,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $179,269,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $178,380,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $183,571,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $182,676,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2022: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $195,680,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $194,719,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2023: 
32 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $192,458,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $191,491,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $189,292,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $188,262,000,000. 

8 (16) Administration of Justice (750): 

9 Fiscal year 2015: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $54,011,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $54,250,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2016: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 $56,932,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, $56,298,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2017: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $56,770,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $58,319,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2018: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $58,405,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $59,095,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2019: 
33 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $60,239,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $60,501,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2020: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $62,146,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $61,649,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2021: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $64,263,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $63,734,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $66,967,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $66,411,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $69,031,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $68,455,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2024: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $71,166,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $70,568,000,000. 

24 (17) General Government (800): 

25 Fiscal year 2015: 
34 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $23,710,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $23,618,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2016: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $23,064,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $22,826,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2017: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $21,587,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $21,674,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2018: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $23,269,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $22,973,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2019: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $24,040,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $23,582,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2020: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $24,759,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $24,331,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2021: 
35 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $25,556,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $25,139,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $26,353,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $25,939,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $27,097,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $26,691,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $27,912,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $27,491,000,000. 

16 (18) Net Interest (900): 

17 Fiscal year 2015: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 $365,987,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, $365,987,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 $416,238,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, $416,238,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2017: 
36 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $482,228,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $482,228,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2018: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $553,820,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $553,820,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2019: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 $611,852,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, $611,852,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 $659,310,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, $659,310,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 $693,159,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, $693,159,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2022: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 $723,805,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, $723,805,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2023: 
37 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $751,215,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $751,215,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 $770,124,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, $770,124,000,000. 

8 (19) Allowances (920): 

9 Fiscal year 2015: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 -$36,364,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, -$22,676,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2016: 

14 (A) New budget authority, 

15 -$47,825,000,000. 

16 (B) Outlays, -$36,706,000,000. 

17 Fiscal year 2017: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 -$51,416,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, -$45,014,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2018: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 -$54,566,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, -$49,571,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2019: 
38 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 -$56,672,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, -$53,542,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2020: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$61,825,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$58,102,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2021: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$64,552,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$61,040,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2022: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$66,871,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$63,946,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 -$68,992,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, -$66,322,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2024: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 -$65,972,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, -$64,338,000,000. 

24 (20) Government-wide savings (930): 

25 Fiscal year 2015: 
39 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 $25,904,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, $20,052,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2016: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$14,151,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$1,701,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2017: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$30,525,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$17,482,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2018: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$38,302,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$27,789,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2019: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 -$46,446,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, -$35,547,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2020: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 -$55,559,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, -$44,608,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2021: 
40 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 -$63,060,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, -$53,317,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2022: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$75,189,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$64,007,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2023: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$87,334,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$75,209,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2024: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$117,125,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$96,353,000,000. 

16 (21) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950): 

17 Fiscal year 2015: 

18 (A) New budget authority, 

19 -$78,632,000,000. 

20 (B) Outlays, -$78,632,000,000. 

21 Fiscal year 2016: 

22 (A) New budget authority, 

23 -$83,652,000,000. 

24 (B) Outlays, -$83,652,000,000. 

25 Fiscal year 2017: 
41 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 -$83,974,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, -$83,974,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2018: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$84,602,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$84,602,000,000. 

8 Fiscal year 2019: 

9 (A) New budget authority, 

10 -$91,824,000,000. 

11 (B) Outlays, -$91,824,000,000. 

12 Fiscal year 2020: 

13 (A) New budget authority, 

14 -$93,787,000,000. 

15 (B) Outlays, -$93,787,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2021: 

17 (A) New budget authority, 

18 -$98,176,000,000. 

19 (B) Outlays, -$98,176,000,000. 

20 Fiscal year 2022: 

21 (A) New budget authority, 

22 -$101,529,000,000. 

23 (B) Outlays, -$101,529,000,000. 

24 Fiscal year 2023: 
42 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) New budget authority, 

2 -$105,731,000,000. 

3 (B) Outlays, -$105,731,000,000. 

4 Fiscal year 2024: 

5 (A) New budget authority, 

6 -$113,422,000,000. 

7 (B) Outlays, -$113,422,000,000. 

8 (22) Overseas Contingency Operations/Global 

9 War on Terrorism (970): 

10 Fiscal year 2015: 

11 (A) New budget authority, 

12 $85,357,000,000. 

13 (B) Outlays, $52,580,000,000. 

14 Fiscal year 2016: 

15 (A) New budget authority, 

16 $29,946,000,000. 

17 (B) Outlays, $37,823,000,000. 

18 Fiscal year 2017: 

19 (A) New budget authority, 

20 $29,946,000,000. 

21 (B) Outlays, $32,585,000,000. 

22 Fiscal year 2018: 

23 (A) New budget authority, 

24 $29,946,000,000. 

25 (B) Outlays, $30,893,000,000. 
43 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2019: 

2 (A) New budget authority, 

3 $29,946,000,000. 

4 (B) Outlays, $31,032,000,000. 

5 Fiscal year 2020: 

6 (A) New budget authority, 

7 $29,946,000,000. 

8 (B) Outlays, $29,647,000,000. 

9 Fiscal year 2021: 

10 (A) New budget authority, 

11 $29,946,000,000. 

12 (B) Outlays, $29,647,000,000. 

13 Fiscal year 2022: 

14 (A) New budget authority, $0. 

15 (B) Outlays, $11,200,000,000. 

16 Fiscal year 2023: 

17 (A) New budget authority, $0. 

18 (B) Outlays, $4,402,000,000. 

19 Fiscal year 2024: 

20 (A) New budget authority, $0. 

21 (B) Outlays, $1,827,000,000. 
44 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 TITLE II—RECOMMENDED LONG2 TERM LEVELS 

3 SEC. 201. LONG-TERM BUDGETING. 

4 The following are the recommended revenue, spend5 ing, and deficit levels for each of fiscal years 2030, 2035, 

6 and 2040 as a percent of the gross domestic product of 

7 the United States: 

8 (1) FEDERAL REVENUES.—The appropriate lev9 els of Federal revenues are as follows: 

10 Fiscal year 2030: 18.8 percent. 

11 Fiscal year 2035: 19.0 percent. 

12 Fiscal year 2040: 19.0 percent. 

13 (2) BUDGET OUTLAYS.—The appropriate levels 

14 of total budget outlays are not to exceed: 

15 Fiscal year 2030: 18.5 percent. 

16 Fiscal year 2035: 17.9 percent. 

17 Fiscal year 2040: 17.2 percent. 

18 (3) DEFICITS.—The appropriate levels of defi19 cits are not to exceed: 

20 Fiscal year 2030: -0.3 percent. 

21 Fiscal year 2035: -1.1 percent. 

22 Fiscal year 2040: -1.8 percent. 

23 (4) DEBT.—The appropriate levels of debt held 

24 by the public are not to exceed: 

25 Fiscal year 2030: 43.0 percent. 
45 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 Fiscal year 2035: 31.0 percent. 

2 Fiscal year 2040: 18.0 percent. 

3 TITLE III—RESERVE FUNDS 

4 SEC. 301. RESERVE FUND FOR THE REPEAL OF THE 2010 

5 HEALTH CARE LAWS. 

6 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

7 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

8 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

9 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution, or amend10 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that only con11 sists of a full repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable 

12 Care Act and the health care-related provisions of the 

13 Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. 

14 SEC. 302. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR THE RE15 FORM OF THE 2010 HEALTH CARE LAWS. 

16 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

17 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

18 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

19 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution, or amend20 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that reforms 

21 or replaces the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 

22 Act or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act 

23 of 2010, if such measure would not increase the deficit 

24 for the period of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 
46 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 303. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATED TO 

2 THE MEDICARE PROVISIONS OF THE 2010 

3 HEALTH CARE LAWS. 

4 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

5 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

6 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

7 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution, or amend8 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that repeals all 

9 or part of the decreases in Medicare spending included in 

10 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or the 

11 Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, 

12 if such measure would not increase the deficit for the pe13 riod of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 

14 SEC. 304. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR THE SUS15 TAINABLE GROWTH RATE OF THE MEDICARE 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

18 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

19 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

20 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution, or amend21 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that includes 

22 provisions amending or superseding the system for updat23 ing payments under section 1848 of the Social Security 

24 Act, if such measure would not increase the deficit for the 

25 period of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 
47 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 305. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REFORM2 ING THE TAX CODE. 

3 In the House, if the Committee on Ways and Means 

4 reports a bill or joint resolution that reforms the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986, the chair of the Committee on the 

6 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

7 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

8 budgetary effects of any such bill or joint resolution, or 

9 amendment thereto or conference report thereon, if such 

10 measure would not increase the deficit for the period of 

11 fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 

12 SEC. 306. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR TRADE 

13 AGREEMENTS. 

14 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

15 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

16 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

17 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution reported 

18 by the Committee on Ways and Means, or amendment 

19 thereto or conference report thereon, that implements a 

20 trade agreement, but only if such measure would not in21 crease the deficit for the period of fiscal years 2015 

22 through 2024. 

23 SEC. 307. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REVENUE 

24 MEASURES. 

25 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

26 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 
48 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 appropriate levels in this concurrent resolution for the 

2 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution reported 

3 by the Committee on Ways and Means, or amendment 

4 thereto or conference report thereon, that decreases rev5 enue, but only if such measure would not increase the def6 icit for the period of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 

7 SEC. 308. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR RURAL 

8 COUNTIES AND SCHOOLS. 

9 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

10 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

11 appropriate levels and limits in this resolution for the 

12 budgetary effects of any bill or joint resolution, or amend13 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that makes 

14 changes to or provides for the reauthorization of the Se15 cure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination 

16 Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–393) by the amounts pro17 vided by that legislation for those purposes, if such legisla18 tion requires sustained yield timber harvests obviating the 

19 need for funding under Public Law 106–393 in the future 

20 and would not increase the deficit or direct spending for 

21 the period of fiscal years 2015 through 2019, or the period 

22 of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 
49 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 309. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR TRANS2 PORTATION. 

3 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

4 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

5 appropriate levels in this resolution for any bill or joint 

6 resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report 

7 thereon, if such measure maintains the solvency of the 

8 Highway Trust Fund, but only if such measure would not 

9 increase the deficit over the period of fiscal years 2015 

10 through 2024. 

11 SEC. 310. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO REDUCE 

12 POVERTY AND INCREASE OPPORTUNITY AND 

13 UPWARD MOBILITY. 

14 In the House, the chair of the Committee on the 

15 Budget may revise the allocations, aggregates, and other 

16 appropriate levels in this resolution for any bill or joint 

17 resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report 

18 thereon, if such measure reforms policies and programs 

19 to reduce poverty and increase opportunity and upward 

20 mobility, but only if such measure would neither adversely 

21 impact job creation nor increase the deficit over the period 

22 of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 

23 TITLE IV—ESTIMATES OF 

24 DIRECT SPENDING 

25 SEC. 401. DIRECT SPENDING. 

26 (a) MEANS-TESTED DIRECT SPENDING.— 
50 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (1) For means-tested direct spending, the aver2 age rate of growth in the total level of outlays dur3 ing the 10-year period preceding fiscal year 2015 is 

4 6.8 percent. 

5 (2) For means-tested direct spending, the esti6 mated average rate of growth in the total level of 

7 outlays during the 10-year period beginning with fis8 cal year 2015 is 5.4 percent under current law. 

9 (3) The following reforms are proposed in this 

10 concurrent resolution for means-tested direct spend11 ing: 

12 (A) In 1996, a Republican Congress and a 

13 Democratic president reformed welfare by lim14 iting the duration of benefits, giving States 

15 more control over the program, and helping re16 cipients find work. In the five years following 

17 passage, child-poverty rates fell, welfare case18 loads fell, and workers’ wages increased. This 

19 budget applies the lessons of welfare reform to 

20 both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

21 Program and Medicaid. 

22 (B) For Medicaid, this budget assumes the 

23 conversion of the Federal share of Medicaid 

24 spending into a flexible State allotment tailored 

25 to meet each State’s needs, indexed for inflation 
51 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 and population growth. Such a reform would 

2 end the misguided one-size-fits-all approach 

3 that has tied the hands of State governments. 

4 Instead, each State would have the freedom and 

5 flexibility to tailor a Medicaid program that fits 

6 the needs of its unique population. Moreover, 

7 this budget assumes the repeal of the Medicaid 

8 expansions in the President’s health care law, 

9 relieving State governments of its crippling one10 size-fits-all enrollment mandates. 

11 (C) For the Supplemental Nutrition As12 sistance Program, this budget assumes the con13 version of the program into a flexible State al14 lotment tailored to meet each State’s needs. 

15 The allotment would increase based on the De16 partment of Agriculture Thrifty Food Plan 

17 index and beneficiary growth. Such a reform 

18 would provide incentives for States to ensure 

19 dollars will go towards those who need them 

20 most. Additionally, it requires that more strin21 gent work requirements and time limits apply 

22 under the program. 

23 (b) NONMEANS-TESTED DIRECT SPENDING.— 

24 (1) For nonmeans-tested direct spending, the 

25 average rate of growth in the total level of outlays 
52 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 during the 10-year period preceding fiscal year 2015 

2 is 5.7 percent. 

3 (2) For nonmeans-tested direct spending, the 

4 estimated average rate of growth in the total level of 

5 outlays during the 10-year period beginning with fis6 cal year 2015 is 5.4 percent under current law. 

7 (3) The following reforms are proposed in this 

8 concurrent resolution for nonmeans-tested direct 

9 spending: 

10 (A) For Medicare, this budget advances 

11 policies to put seniors, not the Federal Govern12 ment, in control of their health care decisions. 

13 Those in or near retirement will see no changes, 

14 while future retirees would be given a choice of 

15 private plans competing alongside the tradi16 tional fee-for-service Medicare program. Medi17 care would provide a premium-support payment 

18 either to pay for or offset the premium of the 

19 plan chosen by the senior, depending on the 

20 plan’s cost. The Medicare premium-support 

21 payment would be adjusted so that the sick 

22 would receive higher payments if their condi23 tions worsened; lower-income seniors would re24 ceive additional assistance to help cover out-of25 pocket costs; and wealthier seniors would as-
53 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 sume responsibility for a greater share of their 

2 premiums. Putting seniors in charge of how 

3 their health care dollars are spent will force 

4 providers to compete against each other on 

5 price and quality. This market competition will 

6 act as a real check on widespread waste and 

7 skyrocketing health care costs. 

8 (B) In keeping with a recommendation 

9 from the National Commission on Fiscal Re10 sponsibility and Reform, this budget calls for 

11 Federal employees—including Members of Con12 gress and congressional staff—to make greater 

13 contributions toward their own retirement. 

14 TITLE V—BUDGET 

15 ENFORCEMENT 

16 SEC. 501. LIMITATION ON ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the House, except as provided 

18 for in subsection (b), any bill or joint resolution, or amend19 ment thereto or conference report thereon, making a gen20 eral appropriation or continuing appropriation may not 

21 provide for advance appropriations. 

22 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—An advance appropriation may be 

23 provided for programs, projects, activities, or accounts re24 ferred to in subsection (c)(1) or identified in the report 

25 to accompany this concurrent resolution or the joint ex-
54 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 planatory statement of managers to accompany this con2 current resolution under the heading ‘‘Accounts Identified 

3 for Advance Appropriations’’. 

4 (c) LIMITATIONS.—For fiscal year 2016, the aggre5 gate level of advance appropriations shall not exceed— 

6 (1) $58,662,202,000 for the following programs 

7 in the Department of Veterans Affairs— 

8 (A) Medical Services; 

9 (B) Medical Support and Compliance; and 

10 (C) Medical Facilities accounts of the Vet11 erans Health Administration; and 

12 (2) $28,781,000,000 in new budget authority 

13 for all programs identified pursuant to subsection 

14 (b). 

15 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘advance 

16 appropriation’’ means any new discretionary budget au17 thority provided in a bill or joint resolution, or amendment 

18 thereto or conference report thereon, making general ap19 propriations or any new discretionary budget authority 

20 provided in a bill or joint resolution making continuing 

21 appropriations for fiscal year 2016. 

22 SEC. 502. CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS. 

23 Upon the enactment of any bill or joint resolution 

24 providing for a change in budgetary concepts or defini25 tions, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may ad-
55 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 just any allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate lev2 els in this concurrent resolution accordingly. 

3 SEC. 503. ADJUSTMENTS OF AGGREGATES, ALLOCATIONS, 

4 AND APPROPRIATE BUDGETARY LEVELS. 

5 (a) ADJUSTMENTS OF DISCRETIONARY AND DIRECT

6 SPENDING LEVELS.—If a committee (other than the Com7 mittee on Appropriations) reports a bill or joint resolution, 

8 or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, pro9 viding for a decrease in direct spending (budget authority 

10 and outlays flowing therefrom) for any fiscal year and also 

11 provides for an authorization of appropriations for the 

12 same purpose, upon the enactment of such measure, the 

13 chair of the Committee on the Budget may decrease the 

14 allocation to such committee and increase the allocation 

15 of discretionary spending (budget authority and outlays 

16 flowing therefrom) to the Committee on Appropriations 

17 for fiscal year 2015 by an amount equal to the new budget 

18 authority (and outlays flowing therefrom) provided for in 

19 a bill or joint resolution making appropriations for the 

20 same purpose. 

21 (b) ADJUSTMENTS TO FUND OVERSEAS CONTIN22 GENCY OPERATIONS/GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM.—In 

23 order to take into account any new information included 

24 in the budget submission by the President for fiscal year 

25 2015, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may ad-
56 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 just the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate 

2 budgetary levels for Overseas Contingency Operations/ 

3 Global War on Terrorism or the section 302(a) allocation 

4 to the Committee on Appropriations set forth in the report 

5 of this concurrent resolution to conform with section 

6 251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 

7 Control Act of 1985 (as adjusted by section 251A of such 

8 Act). 

9 (c) REVISED CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

10 BASELINE.—The chair of the Committee on the Budget 

11 may adjust the allocations, aggregates, and other appro12 priate budgetary levels to reflect changes resulting from 

13 technical and economic assumptions in the most recent 

14 baseline published by the Congressional Budget Office. 

15 (d) DETERMINATIONS.—For the purpose of enforcing 

16 this concurrent resolution on the budget in the House, the 

17 allocations and aggregate levels of new budget authority, 

18 outlays, direct spending, new entitlement authority, reve19 nues, deficits, and surpluses for fiscal year 2015 and the 

20 period of fiscal years 2015 through fiscal year 2024 shall 

21 be determined on the basis of estimates made by the chair 

22 of the Committee on the Budget and such chair may ad23 just such applicable levels of this concurrent resolution. 
57 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 504. LIMITATION ON LONG-TERM SPENDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the House, it shall not be in 

3 order to consider a bill or joint resolution reported by a 

4 committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations), 

5 or an amendment thereto or a conference report thereon, 

6 if the provisions of such measure have the net effect of 

7 increasing direct spending in excess of $5,000,000,000 for 

8 any period described in subsection (b). 

9 (b) TIME PERIODS.—The applicable periods for pur10 poses of this section are any of the four consecutive ten 

11 fiscal-year periods beginning with fiscal year 2025. 

12 SEC. 505. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TRANS13 ACTIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

15 302(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, sec16 tion 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and 

17 section 4001 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 

18 of 1989, the report accompanying this concurrent resolu19 tion on the budget or the joint explanatory statement ac20 companying the conference report on any concurrent reso21 lution on the budget shall include in its allocation under 

22 section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

23 to the Committee on Appropriations amounts for the dis24 cretionary administrative expenses of the Social Security 

25 Administration and the United States Postal Service. 
58 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of applying sec2 tions 302(f) and 311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

3 1974, estimates of the level of total new budget authority 

4 and total outlays provided by a measure shall include any 

5 off-budget discretionary amounts. 

6 (c) ADJUSTMENTS.—The chair of the Committee on 

7 the Budget may adjust the allocations, aggregates, and 

8 other appropriate levels for legislation reported by the 

9 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that re10 forms the Federal retirement system, if such adjustments 

11 do not cause a net increase in the deficit for fiscal year 

12 2015 and the period of fiscal years 2015 through 2024. 

13 SEC. 506. APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF CHANGES IN ALLO14 CATIONS AND AGGREGATES. 

15 (a) APPLICATION.—Any adjustments of the alloca16 tions, aggregates, and other appropriate levels made pur17 suant to this concurrent resolution shall— 

18 (1) apply while that measure is under consider19 ation; 

20 (2) take effect upon the enactment of that 

21 measure; and 

22 (3) be published in the Congressional Record as 

23 soon as practicable. 

24 (b) EFFECT OF CHANGED ALLOCATIONS AND AG25 GREGATES.—Revised allocations and aggregates resulting 
59 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 from these adjustments shall be considered for the pur2 poses of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as alloca3 tions and aggregates included in this concurrent resolu4 tion. 

5 (c) BUDGET COMPLIANCE.—The consideration of any 

6 bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or con7 ference report thereon, for which the chair of the Com8 mittee on the Budget makes adjustments or revisions in 

9 the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels 

10 of this concurrent resolution shall not be subject to the 

11 points of order set forth in clause 10 of rule XXI of the 

12 Rules of the House of Representatives or section 504. 

13 SEC. 507. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

15 (1) Costs of Federal housing loans and loan 

16 guarantees are treated unequally in the budget. The 

17 Congressional Budget Office uses fair-value account18 ing to measure the costs of Fannie Mae and Freddie 

19 Mac, but determines the cost of other Federal loan 

20 and loan-guarantee programs on the basis of the 

21 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (‘‘FCRA’’). 

22 (2) The fair-value accounting method uses dis23 count rates which incorporate the risk inherent to 

24 the type of liability being estimated in addition to 

25 Treasury discount rates of the proper maturity 
60 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 length. In contrast, FCRA accounting solely uses the 

2 discount rates of the Treasury, failing to incorporate 

3 all of the risks attendant to these credit activities. 

4 (3) The Congressional Budget Office estimates 

5 that if fair-value were used to estimate the cost of 

6 all new credit activity in 2014, the deficit would be 

7 approximately $50 billion higher than under the cur8 rent methodology. 

9 (b) FAIR VALUE ESTIMATES.—Upon the request of 

10 the chair or ranking member of the Committee on the 

11 Budget, any estimate prepared by the Director of the Con12 gressional Budget Office for a measure under the terms 

13 of title V of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, ‘‘credit 

14 reform’’, as a supplement to such estimate shall, to the 

15 extent practicable, also provide an estimate of the current 

16 actual or estimated market values representing the ‘‘fair 

17 value’’ of assets and liabilities affected by such measure. 

18 (c) FAIR VALUE ESTIMATES FOR HOUSING PRO19 GRAMS.—Whenever the Director of the Congressional 

20 Budget Office prepares an estimate pursuant to section 

21 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 of the costs 

22 which would be incurred in carrying out any bill or joint 

23 resolution and if the Director determines that such bill 

24 or joint resolution has a cost related to a housing or resi25 dential mortgage program under the FCRA, then the Di-
61 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 rector shall also provide an estimate of the current actual 

2 or estimated market values representing the ‘‘fair value’’ 

3 of assets and liabilities affected by the provisions of such 

4 bill or joint resolution that result in such cost. 

5 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—If the Director of the Congres6 sional Budget Office provides an estimate pursuant to 

7 subsection (b) or (c), the chair of the Committee on the 

8 Budget may use such estimate to determine compliance 

9 with the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and other 

10 budgetary enforcement controls. 

11 SEC. 508. TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND OF THE 

12 TREASURY TO THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND 

13 THAT INCREASE PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS. 

14 For purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 

15 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con16 trol Act of 1985, or the rules or orders of the House of 

17 Representatives, a bill or joint resolution, or an amend18 ment thereto or conference report thereon, that transfers 

19 funds from the general fund of the Treasury to the High20 way Trust Fund shall be counted as new budget authority 

21 and outlays equal to the amount of the transfer in the 

22 fiscal year the transfer occurs. 
62 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 509. SEPARATE ALLOCATION FOR OVERSEAS CONTIN2 GENCY OPERATIONS/GLOBAL WAR ON TER3 RORISM. 

4 (a) ALLOCATION.—In the House, there shall be a sep5 arate allocation to the Committee on Appropriations for 

6 overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism. 

7 For purposes of enforcing such separate allocation under 

8 section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

9 the ‘‘first fiscal year’’ and the ‘‘total of fiscal years’’ shall 

10 be deemed to refer to fiscal year 2015. Such separate allo11 cation shall be the exclusive allocation for overseas contin12 gency operations/global war on terrorism under section 

13 302(a) of such Act. Section 302(c) of such Act shall not 

14 apply to such separate allocation. The Committee on Ap15 propriations may provide suballocations of such separate 

16 allocation under section 302(b) of such Act. Spending that 

17 counts toward the allocation established by this section 

18 shall be designated pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) 

19 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

20 Act of 1985. 

21 (b) ADJUSTMENT.—In the House, for purposes of 

22 subsection (a) for fiscal year 2015, no adjustment shall 

23 be made under section 314(a) of the Congressional Budget 

24 Act of 1974 if any adjustment would be made under sec25 tion 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emer26 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 
63 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 510. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS. 

2 The House adopts the provisions of this title— 

3 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

4 the House of Representatives and as such they shall 

5 be considered as part of the rules of the House of 

6 Representatives, and these rules shall supersede 

7 other rules only to the extent that they are incon8 sistent with other such rules; and 

9 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

10 right of the House of Representatives to change 

11 those rules at any time, in the same manner, and to 

12 the same extent as in the case of any other rule of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 TITLE VI—POLICY STATEMENTS 

15 SEC. 601. POLICY STATEMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND 

16 JOB CREATION. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

18 (1) Although the United States economy tech19 nically emerged from recession nearly five years ago, 

20 the subsequent recovery has felt more like a malaise 

21 than a rebound. Real gross domestic product (GDP) 

22 growth over the past four years has averaged just 

23 over 2 percent, well below the 3 percent trend rate 

24 of growth in the United States. 

25 (2) The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) did 

26 a study in late 2012 examining why the United 
64 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 States economy was growing so slowly after the re2 cession. They found, among other things, that 

3 United States economic output was growing at less 

4 than half of the typical rate exhibited during other 

5 recoveries since World War II. CBO said that about 

6 two-thirds of this ‘‘growth gap’’ was due to a pro7 nounced sluggishness in the growth of potential 

8 GDP—particularly in potential employment levels 

9 (such as people leaving the labor force) and the 

10 growth in productivity (which is in turn related to 

11 lower capital investment). 

12 (3) The prolonged economic sluggishness is par13 ticularly troubling given the amount of fiscal and 

14 monetary policy actions taken in recent years to 

15 cushion the depth of the downturn and to spark 

16 higher rates of growth and employment. In addition 

17 to the large stimulus package passed in early 2009, 

18 many other initiatives have been taken to boost 

19 growth, such as the new homebuyer tax credit and 

20 the ‘‘cash for clunkers’’ program. These stimulus ef21 forts may have led to various short term ‘‘pops’’ in 

22 activity but the economy and job market has since 

23 reverted back to a sub-par trend. 

24 (4) The unemployment rate has declined in re25 cent years, from a peak of nearly 10 percent in 
65 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 2009-2010 to 6.7 percent in the latest month. How2 ever, a significant chunk of this decline has been due 

3 to people leaving the labor force (and therefore no 

4 longer being counted as ‘‘unemployed’’) and not 

5 from a surge in employment. The slow decline in the 

6 unemployment rate in recent years has occurred 

7 alongside a steep decline in the economy’s labor 

8 force participation rate. The participation rate 

9 stands at 63.0 percent, close to the lowest level since 

10 1978. The flipside of this is that over 90 million 

11 Americans are now ‘‘on the sidelines’’ and not in the 

12 labor force, representing a 10 million increase since 

13 early 2009. 

14 (5) Real median household income declined for 

15 the fifth consecutive year in 2012 (latest data avail16 able) and, at just over $51,000, is currently at its 

17 lowest level since 1995. Weak wage and income 

18 growth as a result of a subpar labor market not only 

19 means lower tax revenue coming in to the Treasury, 

20 it also means higher government spending on income 

21 support programs. 

22 (6) A stronger economy is vital to lowering def23 icit levels and eventually balancing the budget. Ac24 cording to CBO, if annual real GDP growth is just 
66 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 0.1 percentage point higher over the budget window, 

2 deficits would be reduced by $311 billion. 

3 (7) This budget resolution therefore embraces 

4 pro-growth policies, such as fundamental tax reform, 

5 that will help foster a stronger economy and more 

6 job creation. 

7 (8) Reining in government spending and low8 ering budget deficits has a positive long-term impact 

9 on the economy and the budget. According to CBO, 

10 a significant deficit reduction package (i.e. $4 tril11 lion), would boost longer-term economic output by 

12 1.7 percent. Their analysis concludes that deficit re13 duction creates long-term economic benefits because 

14 it increases the pool of national savings and boosts 

15 investment, thereby raising economic growth and job 

16 creation. 

17 (9) The greater economic output that stems 

18 from a large deficit reduction package would have a 

19 sizeable impact on the Federal budget. For instance, 

20 higher output would lead to greater revenues 

21 through the increase in taxable incomes. Lower in22 terest rates, and a reduction in the stock of debt, 

23 would lead to lower government spending on net in24 terest expenses. According to CBO, this dynamic 
67 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 would reduce unified budget deficits by an amount 

2 sufficient to produce a surplus in fiscal year 2024. 

3 (b) POLICY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOB CRE4 ATION.—It is the policy of this resolution to promote fast5 er economic growth and job creation. By putting the budg6 et on a sustainable path, this resolution ends the debt7 fueled uncertainty holding back job creators. Reforms to 

8 the tax code to put American businesses and workers in 

9 a better position to compete and thrive in the 21st century 

10 global economy. This resolution targets the regulatory red 

11 tape and cronyism that stack the deck in favor of special 

12 interests. All of the reforms in this resolution serve as 

13 means to the larger end of growing the economy and ex14 panding opportunity for all Americans. 

15 SEC. 602. POLICY STATEMENT ON TAX REFORM. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

17 (1) A world-class tax system should be simple, 

18 fair, and promote (rather than impede) economic 

19 growth. The United States tax code fails on all three 

20 counts – it is notoriously complex, patently unfair, 

21 and highly inefficient. The tax code’s complexity dis22 torts decisions to work, save, and invest, which leads 

23 to slower economic growth, lower wages, and less job 

24 creation. 
68 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (2) Over the past decade alone, there have been 

2 more than 4,400 changes to the tax code, more than 

3 one per day. Many of the major changes over the 

4 years have involved carving out special preferences, 

5 exclusions, or deductions for various activities or 

6 groups. These loopholes add up to more than $1 tril7 lion per year and make the code unfair, inefficient, 

8 and highly complex. 

9 (3) In addition, these tax preferences are dis10 proportionately used by upper-income individuals. 

11 (4) The large amount of tax preferences that 

12 pervade the code end up narrowing the tax base. A 

13 narrow tax base, in turn, requires much higher tax 

14 rates to raise a given amount of revenue. 

15 (5) It is estimated that American taxpayers end 

16 up spending $160 billion and roughly 6 billion hours 

17 a year complying with the tax code – a waste of time 

18 and resources that could be used in more productive 

19 activities. 

20 (6) Standard economic theory shows that high 

21 marginal tax rates dampen the incentives to work, 

22 save, and invest, which reduces economic output and 

23 job creation. Lower economic output, in turn, mutes 

24 the intended revenue gain from higher marginal tax 

25 rates. 
69 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (7) Roughly half of United States active busi2 ness income and half of private sector employment 

3 are derived from business entities (such as partner4 ships, S corporations, and sole proprietorships) that 

5 are taxed on a ‘‘pass-through’’ basis, meaning the 

6 income flows through to the tax returns of the indi7 vidual owners and is taxed at the individual rate 

8 structure rather than at the corporate rate. Small 

9 businesses, in particular, tend to choose this form 

10 for Federal tax purposes, and the top Federal rate 

11 on such small business income reaches 44.6 percent. 

12 For these reasons, sound economic policy requires 

13 lowering marginal rates on these pass-through enti14 ties. 

15 (8) The United States corporate income tax 

16 rate (including Federal, State, and local taxes) sums 

17 to just over 39 percent, the highest rate in the in18 dustrialized world. Tax rates this high suppress 

19 wages and discourage investment and job creation, 

20 distort business activity, and put American busi21 nesses at a competitive disadvantage with foreign 

22 competitors. 

23 (9) By deterring potential investment, the 

24 United States corporate tax restrains economic 

25 growth and job creation. The United States tax rate 
70 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 differential with other countries also fosters a vari2 ety of complicated multinational corporate behaviors 

3 intended to avoid the tax, which have the effect of 

4 moving the tax base offshore, destroying American 

5 jobs, and decreasing corporate revenue. 

6 (10) The ‘‘worldwide’’ structure of United 

7 States international taxation essentially taxes earn8 ings of United States firms twice, putting them at 

9 a significant competitive disadvantage with competi10 tors with more competitive international tax systems. 

11 (11) Reforming the United States tax code to 

12 a more competitive international system would boost 

13 the competitiveness of United States companies op14 erating abroad and it would also greatly reduce tax 

15 avoidance. 

16 (12) The tax code imposes costs on American 

17 workers through lower wages, on consumers in high18 er prices, and on investors in diminished returns. 

19 (13) Revenues have averaged about 17.5 per20 cent of the economy throughout modern American 

21 history. Revenues rise above this level under current 

22 law to 18.4 percent of the economy by the end of the 

23 10-year budget window. 
71 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (14) Attempting to raise revenue through tax 

2 increases to meet out-of-control spending would 

3 damage the economy. 

4 (15) This resolution also rejects the idea of in5 stituting a carbon tax in the United States, which 

6 some have offered as a ‘‘new’’ source of revenue. 

7 Such a plan would damage the economy, cost jobs, 

8 and raise prices on American consumers. 

9 (16) Closing tax loopholes to fund spending 

10 does not constitute fundamental tax reform. 

11 (17) The goal of tax reform should be to curb 

12 or eliminate loopholes and use those savings to lower 

13 tax rates across the board—not to fund more waste14 ful Government spending. Tax reform should be rev15 enue-neutral and should not be an excuse to raise 

16 taxes on the American people. Washington has a 

17 spending problem, not a revenue problem. 

18 (b) POLICY ON TAX REFORM.—It is the policy of this 

19 resolution that Congress should enact legislation that pro20 vides for a comprehensive reform of the United States tax 

21 code to promote economic growth, create American jobs, 

22 increase wages, and benefit American consumers, inves23 tors, and workers through revenue-neutral fundamental 

24 tax reform that— 
72 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (1) simplifies the tax code to make it fairer to 

2 American families and businesses and reduces the 

3 amount of time and resources necessary to comply 

4 with tax laws; 

5 (2) substantially lowers tax rates for individ6 uals, with a goal of achieving a top individual rate 

7 of 25 percent and consolidating the current seven in8 dividual income tax brackets into two brackets with 

9 a first bracket of 10 percent; 

10 (3) repeals the Alternative Minimum Tax; 

11 (4) reduces the corporate tax rate to 25 per12 cent; and 

13 (5) transitions the tax code to a more competi14 tive system of international taxation. 

15 SEC. 603. POLICY STATEMENT ON REPLACING THE PRESI16 DENT’S HEALTH CARE LAW. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

18 (1) The President’s health care law has failed 

19 to reduce health care premiums as promised. Health 

20 care premiums were supposed to decline by $2,500. 

21 Instead, according to the 2013 Employer Health 

22 Benefits Survey, health care premiums have in23 creased by 5 percent for individual plans and 4 per24 cent for family since 2012. Moreover, according to 

25 a report from the Energy and Commerce Committee, 
73 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 premiums for individual market plans may go up as 

2 much as 50 percent because of the law. 

3 (2) The President pledged that Americans 

4 would be able to keep their health care plan if they 

5 liked it. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget 

6 Office now estimates 2 million Americans with em7 ployment-based health coverage will lose those plans. 

8 (3) Then-Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, 

9 said that the President’s health care law would cre10 ate 4 million jobs over the life of the law and almost 

11 400,000 jobs immediately. Instead, the Congres12 sional Budget Office estimates that the law will re13 duce full-time equivalent employment by about 2.0 

14 million hours in 2017 and 2.5 million hours in 2024, 

15 ‘‘compared with what would have occurred in the ab16 sence of the ACA.’’. 

17 (4) The implementation of the law has been a 

18 failure. The main website that Americans were sup19 posed to use in purchasing new coverage was broken 

20 for over a month. Since the President’s health care 

21 law was signed into law, the Administration has an22 nounced 23 delays. The President has also failed to 

23 submit any nominees to sit on the Independent Pay24 ment Advisory Board, a panel of bureaucrats that 

25 will cut Medicare by an additional $12.1 billion over 
74 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 the next ten years, according to the President’s own 

2 budget. 

3 (5) The President’s health care law should be 

4 repealed and replaced with reforms that make af5 fordable and quality health care coverage available 

6 to all Americans. 

7 (b) POLICY ON REPLACING THE PRESIDENT’S

8 HEALTH CARE LAW.—It is the policy of this resolution 

9 that the President’s health care law must not only be re10 pealed, but also replaced, for the following reasons: 

11 (1) The President’s health care law is a govern12 ment-run system driving up health care costs and 

13 forcing Americans to lose their health care coverage 

14 and should be replaced with a reformed health care 

15 system that gives patients and their doctors more 

16 choice and control over their health care. 

17 (2) Instead of a complex structure of subsidies, 

18 ‘‘firewalls,’’ mandates, and penalties, a reformed 

19 health care system should make health care coverage 

20 portable. 

21 (3) Instead of stifling innovation in health care 

22 technologies, treatments, and medications through 

23 Federal mandates, taxes, and price controls, a re24 formed health care system should encourage re25 search and development. 
75 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (4) Instead of instituting one-size-fits-all direc2 tives from Federal bureaucracies such as the Inter3 nal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and 

4 Human Services, and the Independent Payment Ad5 visory Board, individuals and families should be free 

6 to secure the health care coverage that best meets 

7 their needs. 

8 (5) Instead of allowing fraudulent lawsuits, 

9 which are driving up health care costs, the medical 

10 liability system should be reformed while at the same 

11 time reaffirming that States should be free to imple12 ment the policies that best suit their needs. 

13 (6) Instead of using Federal taxes, mandates, 

14 and bureaucracies to address those who have trouble 

15 securing health care coverage, high risk pools should 

16 be established. 

17 (7) Instead of more than doubling spending on 

18 Medicaid, which is driving up Federal debt and will 

19 eventually bankrupt State budgets, Medicaid spend20 ing should be brought under control and States 

21 should be given more flexibility to provide quality, 

22 affordable care to those who are eligible. 

23 (8) Instead of driving up health care costs and 

24 reducing employment, a reformed health care system 

25 should lower health care costs, which will increase 
76 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 economic growth an employment by lowering health 

2 care inflation. 

3 SEC. 604. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICARE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

5 (1) More than 50 million Americans depend on 

6 Medicare for their health security. 

7 (2) The Medicare Trustees Report has repeat8 edly recommended that Medicare’s long-term finan9 cial challenges be addressed soon. Each year without 

10 reform, the financial condition of Medicare becomes 

11 more precarious and the threat to those in or near 

12 retirement becomes more pronounced. According to 

13 the Congressional Budget Office— 

14 (A) the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund 

15 will be exhausted in 2026 and unable to pay 

16 scheduled benefits; and 

17 (B) Medicare spending is growing faster 

18 than the economy and Medicare outlays are 

19 currently rising at a rate of 6 percent per year 

20 over the next ten years, and according to the 

21 Congressional Budget Office’s 2013 Long-Term 

22 Budget Outlook, spending on Medicare is pro23 jected to reach 5 percent of gross domestic 

24 product (GDP) by 2040 and 9.4 percent of 

25 GDP by 2088. 
77 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (3) The President’s health care law created a 

2 new Federal agency called the Independent Payment 

3 Advisory Board (IPAB) empowered with unilateral 

4 authority to cut Medicare spending. As a result of 

5 that law— 

6 (A) IPAB will be tasked with keeping the 

7 Medicare per capita growth below a Medicare 

8 per capita target growth rate. Prior to 2018, 

9 the target growth rate is based on the five-year 

10 average of overall inflation and medical infla11 tion. Beginning in 2018, the target growth rate 

12 will be the five-year average increase in the 

13 nominal GDP plus one percentage point, which 

14 the President has twice proposed to reduce to 

15 GDP plus one-half percentage point; 

16 (B) the fifteen unelected, unaccountable 

17 bureaucrats of IPAB will make decisions that 

18 will reduce seniors access to care; 

19 (C) the nonpartisan Office of the Medicare 

20 Chief Actuary estimates that the provider cuts 

21 already contained in the Affordable Care Act 

22 will force 15 percent of hospitals, skilled nurs23 ing facilities, and home health agencies to be24 come unprofitable in 2019; and 
78 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (D) additional cuts from the IPAB board 

2 will force even more health care providers to 

3 close their doors, and the Board should be re4 pealed. 

5 (4) Failing to address this problem will leave 

6 millions of American seniors without adequate health 

7 security and younger generations burdened with 

8 enormous debt to pay for spending levels that cannot 

9 be sustained. 

10 (b) POLICY ON MEDICARE REFORM.—It is the policy 

11 of this resolution to protect those in or near retirement 

12 from any disruptions to their Medicare benefits and offer 

13 future beneficiaries the same health care options available 

14 to Members of Congress. 

15 (c) ASSUMPTIONS.—This resolution assumes reform 

16 of the Medicare program such that: 

17 (1) Current Medicare benefits are preserved for 

18 those in or near retirement. 

19 (2) For future generations, when they reach eli20 gibility, Medicare is reformed to provide a premium 

21 support payment and a selection of guaranteed 

22 health coverage options from which recipients can 

23 choose a plan that best suits their needs. 

24 (3) Medicare will maintain traditional fee-for25 service as an option. 
79 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (4) Medicare will provide additional assistance 

2 for lower-income beneficiaries and those with greater 

3 health risks. 

4 (5) Medicare spending is put on a sustainable 

5 path and the Medicare program becomes solvent 

6 over the long-term. 

7 SEC. 605. POLICY STATEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

9 (1) More than 55 million retirees, individuals 

10 with disabilities, and survivors depend on Social Se11 curity. Since enactment, Social Security has served 

12 as a vital leg on the ‘‘three-legged stool’’ of retire13 ment security, which includes employer provided 

14 pensions as well as personal savings. 

15 (2) The Social Security Trustees Report has re16 peatedly recommended that Social Security’s long17 term financial challenges be addressed soon. Each 

18 year without reform, the financial condition of Social 

19 Security becomes more precarious and the threat to 

20 seniors and those receiving Social Security disability 

21 benefits becomes more pronounced: 

22 (A) In 2016, the Disability Insurance 

23 Trust Fund will be exhausted and program rev24 enues will be unable to pay scheduled benefits. 
80 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (B) In 2033, the combined Old-Age and 

2 Survivors and Disability Trust Funds will be 

3 exhausted, and program revenues will be unable 

4 to pay scheduled benefits. 

5 (C) With the exhaustion of the Trust 

6 Funds in 2033, benefits will be cut nearly 25 

7 percent across the board, devastating those cur8 rently in or near retirement and those who rely 

9 on Social Security the most. 

10 (3) The recession and continued low economic 

11 growth have exacerbated the looming fiscal crisis 

12 facing Social Security. The most recent CBO projec13 tions find that Social Security will run cash deficits 

14 of $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years. 

15 (4) Lower-income Americans rely on Social Se16 curity for a larger proportion of their retirement in17 come. Therefore, reforms should take into consider18 ation the need to protect lower-income Americans’ 

19 retirement security. 

20 (5) The Disability Insurance program provides 

21 an essential income safety net for those with disabil22 ities and their families. According to the Congres23 sional Budget Office (CBO), between 1970 and 

24 2012, the number of people receiving disability bene25 fits (both disabled workers and their dependent fam-
81 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 ily members) has increased by over 300 percent 

2 from 2.7 million to over 10.9 million. This increase 

3 is not due strictly to population growth or decreases 

4 in health. David Autor and Mark Duggan have 

5 found that the increase in individuals on disability 

6 does not reflect a decrease in self-reported health. 

7 CBO attributes program growth to changes in demo8 graphics, changes in the composition of the labor 

9 force and compensation, as well as Federal policies. 

10 (6) If this program is not reformed, families 

11 who rely on the lifeline that disability benefits pro12 vide will face benefit cuts of up to 25 percent in 

13 2016, devastating individuals who need assistance 

14 the most. 

15 (7) In the past, Social Security has been re16 formed on a bipartisan basis, most notably by the 

17 ‘‘Greenspan Commission’’ which helped to address 

18 Social Security shortfalls for over a generation. 

19 (8) Americans deserve action by the President, 

20 the House, and the Senate to preserve and strength21 en Social Security. It is critical that bipartisan ac22 tion be taken to address the looming insolvency of 

23 Social Security. In this spirit, this resolution creates 

24 a bipartisan opportunity to find solutions by requir-
82 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 ing policymakers to ensure that Social Security re2 mains a critical part of the safety net. 

3 (b) POLICY ON SOCIAL SECURITY.—It is the policy 

4 of this resolution that Congress should work on a bipar5 tisan basis to make Social Security sustainably solvent. 

6 This resolution assumes reform of a current law trigger, 

7 such that: 

8 (1) If in any year the Board of Trustees of the 

9 Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 

10 Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 

11 Fund annual Trustees Report determines that the 

12 75-year actuarial balance of the Social Security 

13 Trust Funds is in deficit, and the annual balance of 

14 the Social Security Trust Funds in the 75th year is 

15 in deficit, the Board of Trustees shall, no later than 

16 September 30 of the same calendar year, submit to 

17 the President recommendations for statutory re18 forms necessary to achieve a positive 75-year actu19 arial balance and a positive annual balance in the 

20 75th-year. Recommendations provided to the Presi21 dent must be agreed upon by both Public Trustees 

22 of the Board of Trustees. 

23 (2) Not later than December 1 of the same cal24 endar year in which the Board of Trustees submit 

25 their recommendations, the President shall promptly 
83 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 submit implementing legislation to both Houses of 

2 Congress including his recommendations necessary 

3 to achieve a positive 75-year actuarial balance and 

4 a positive annual balance in the 75th year. The Ma5 jority Leader of the Senate and the Majority Leader 

6 of the House shall introduce the President’s legisla7 tion upon receipt. 

8 (3) Within 60 days of the President submitting 

9 legislation, the committees of jurisdiction to which 

10 the legislation has been referred shall report the bill 

11 which shall be considered by the full House or Sen12 ate under expedited procedures. 

13 (4) Legislation submitted by the President 

14 shall— 

15 (A) protect those in or near retirement; 

16 (B) preserve the safety net for those who 

17 count on Social Security the most, including 

18 those with disabilities and survivors; 

19 (C) improve fairness for participants; 

20 (D) reduce the burden on, and provide cer21 tainty for, future generations; and 

22 (E) secure the future of the Disability In23 surance program while addressing the needs of 

24 those with disabilities today and improving the 

25 determination process. 
84 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (c) POLICY ON DISABILITY INSURANCE.—It is the 

2 policy of this resolution that Congress and the President 

3 should enact legislation on a bipartisan basis to reform 

4 the Disability Insurance program prior to its insolvency 

5 in 2016 and should not raid the Social Security retirement 

6 system without reforms to the Disability Insurance sys7 tem. 

8 SEC. 606. POLICY STATEMENT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND 

9 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY. 

10 (a) FINDINGS ON HIGHER EDUCATION.—The House 

11 finds the following: 

12 (1) A well-educated workforce is critical to eco13 nomic, job, and wage growth. 

14 (2) 19.5 million students are enrolled in Amer15 ican colleges and universities. 

16 (3) Over the last decade, tuition and fees have 

17 been growing at an unsustainable rate. Between the 

18 2002-2003 Academic Year and the 2012-2013 Aca19 demic Year— 

20 (A) published tuition and fees for in-State 

21 students at public four-year colleges and univer22 sities increased at an average rate of 5.2 per23 cent per year beyond the rate of general infla24 tion; 
85 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (B) published tuition and fees for in-State 

2 students at public two-year colleges and univer3 sities increased at an average rate of 3.9 per4 cent per year beyond the rate of general infla5 tion; and 

6 (C) published tuition and fees for in-State 

7 students at private four-year colleges and uni8 versities increased at an average rate of 2.4 

9 percent per year beyond the rate of general in10 flation. 

11 (4) Over that same period, Federal financial aid 

12 has increased 105 percent. 

13 (5) This spending has failed to make college 

14 more affordable. 

15 (6) In his 2012 State of the Union Address, 

16 President Obama noted that, ‘‘We can’t just keep 

17 subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of 

18 money.’’. 

19 (7) American students are chasing ever-increas20 ing tuition with ever-increasing debt. According to 

21 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student 

22 debt more than quadrupled between 2003 and 2013, 

23 and now stands at nearly $1.1 trillion. Student debt 

24 now has the second largest balance after mortgage 

25 debt. 
86 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (8) Students are carrying large debt loads and 

2 too many fail to complete college or end up default3 ing on these loans due to their debt burden and a 

4 weak economy and job market. 

5 (9) Based on estimates from the Congressional 

6 Budget Office, the Pell Grant Program will face a 

7 fiscal shortfall beginning in fiscal year 2016 and 

8 continuing in each subsequent year in the current 

9 budget window. 

10 (10) Failing to address these problems will 

11 jeopardize access and affordability to higher edu12 cation for America’s young people. 

13 (b) POLICY ON HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORD14 ABILITY.—It is the policy of this resolution to address the 

15 root drivers of tuition inflation, by— 

16 (1) targeting Federal financial aid to those 

17 most in need; 

18 (2) streamlining programs that provide aid to 

19 make them more effective; 

20 (3) maintaining the maximum Pell grant award 

21 level at $5,730 in each year of the budget window; 

22 and 

23 (4) removing regulatory barriers in higher edu24 cation that act to restrict flexibility and innovative 

25 teaching, particularly as it relates to non-traditional 
87 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 models such as online coursework and competency2 based learning. 

3 (c) FINDINGS ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—The 

4 House finds the following: 

5 (1) Over ten million Americans are currently 

6 unemployed. 

7 (2) Despite billions of dollars in spending, those 

8 looking for work are stymied by a broken workforce 

9 development system that fails to connect workers 

10 with assistance and employers with trained per11 sonnel. 

12 (4) According to a 2011 Government Account13 ability Office (GAO) report, in fiscal year 2009, the 

14 Federal Government spent $18 billion across 9 agen15 cies to administer 47 Federal job training programs, 

16 almost all of which overlapped with another program 

17 in terms of offered services and targeted population. 

18 (5) Since the release of that GAO report, the 

19 Education and Workforce Committee, which has 

20 done extensive work in this area, has identified more 

21 than 50 programs. 

22 (3) Without changes, this flawed system will 

23 continue to fail those looking for work or to improve 

24 their skills, and jeopardize economic growth. 
88 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (d) POLICY ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—It is 

2 the policy of this resolution to address the failings in the 

3 current workforce development system, by— 

4 (1) streamlining and consolidating Federal job 

5 training programs as advanced by the House-passed 

6 Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong 

7 Skills Act (SKILLS Act); and 

8 (2) empowering states with the flexibility to tai9 lor funding and programs to the specific needs of 

10 their workforce, including the development of career 

11 scholarships. 

12 SEC. 607. POLICY STATEMENT ON DEFICIT REDUCTION 

13 THROUGH THE CANCELLATION OF UNOBLI14 GATED BALANCES. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

16 (1) According to the most recent estimate from 

17 the Office of Management and Budget, Federal 

18 agencies were expected to hold $739 billion in unob19 ligated balances at the close of fiscal year 2014. 

20 (2) These funds represent direct and discre21 tionary spending made available by Congress that 

22 remains available for expenditure beyond the fiscal 

23 year for which they are provided. 

24 (3) In some cases, agencies are granted funding 

25 and it remains available for obligation indefinitely. 
89 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (4) The Congressional Budget and Impound2 ment Control Act of 1974 requires the Office of 

3 Management and Budget to make funds available to 

4 agencies for obligation and prohibits the Administra5 tion from withholding or cancelling unobligated 

6 funds unless approved by an act of Congress. 

7 (5) Greater congressional oversight is required 

8 to review and identify potential savings from 

9 unneeded balances of funds. 

10 (b) POLICY ON DEFICIT REDUCTION THROUGH THE

11 CANCELLATION OF UNOBLIGATED BALANCES.—Congres12 sional committees shall through their oversight activities 

13 identify and achieve savings through the cancellation or 

14 rescission of unobligated balances that neither abrogate 

15 contractual obligations of the Government nor reduce or 

16 disrupt Federal commitments under programs such as So17 cial Security, veterans’ affairs, national security, and 

18 Treasury authority to finance the national debt. 

19 (c) DEFICIT REDUCTION.—Congress, with the assist20 ance of the Government Accountability Office, the Inspec21 tors General, and other appropriate agencies should con22 tinue to make it a high priority to review unobligated bal23 ances and identify savings for deficit reduction. 
90 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 SEC. 608. POLICY STATEMENT ON RESPONSIBLE STEWARD2 SHIP OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

4 (1) The budget for the House of Representa5 tives is $188 million less than it was when Repub6 licans became the majority in 2011. 

7 (2) The House of Representatives has achieved 

8 significant savings by consolidating operations and 

9 renegotiating contracts. 

10 (b) POLICY ON RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP OF

11 TAXPAYER DOLLARS.—It is the policy of this resolution 

12 that: 

13 (1) The House of Representatives must be a 

14 model for the responsible stewardship of taxpayer re15 sources and therefore must identify any savings that 

16 can be achieved through greater productivity and ef17 ficiency gains in the operation and maintenance of 

18 House services and resources like printing, con19 ferences, utilities, telecommunications, furniture, 

20 grounds maintenance, postage, and rent. This should 

21 include a review of policies and procedures for acqui22 sition of goods and services to eliminate any unnec23 essary spending. The Committee on House Adminis24 tration should review the policies pertaining to the 

25 services provided to Members and committees of the 

26 House, and should identify ways to reduce any sub-
91 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 sidies paid for the operation of the House gym, bar2 ber shop, salon, and the House dining room. 

3 (2) No taxpayer funds may be used to purchase 

4 first class airfare or to lease corporate jets for Mem5 bers of Congress. 

6 (3) Retirement benefits for Members of Con7 gress should not include free, taxpayer-funded health 

8 care for life. 

9 SEC. 609. POLICY STATEMENT ON DEFICIT REDUCTION 

10 THROUGH THE REDUCTION OF UNNECES11 SARY AND WASTEFUL SPENDING. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

13 (1) The Government Accountability Office 

14 (‘‘GAO’’) is required by law to identify examples of 

15 waste, duplication, and overlap in Federal programs, 

16 and has so identified dozens of such examples. 

17 (2) In testimony before the Committee on Over18 sight and Government Reform, the Comptroller Gen19 eral has stated that addressing the identified waste, 

20 duplication, and overlap in Federal programs ‘‘could 

21 potentially save tens of billions of dollars.’’ 

22 (3) In 2011, 2012, and 2013 the Government 

23 Accountability Office issued reports showing exces24 sive duplication and redundancy in Federal pro25 grams including— 
92 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (A) 209 Science, Technology, Engineering, 

2 and Mathematics education programs in 13 dif3 ferent Federal agencies at a cost of $3 billion 

4 annually; 

5 (B) 200 separate Department of Justice 

6 crime prevention and victim services grant pro7 grams with an annual cost of $3.9 billion in 

8 2010; 

9 (C) 20 different Federal entities admin10 ister 160 housing programs and other forms of 

11 Federal assistance for housing with a total cost 

12 of $170 billion in 2010; 

13 (D) 17 separate Homeland Security pre14 paredness grant programs that spent $37 bil15 lion between fiscal year 2011 and 2012; 

16 (E) 14 grant and loan programs, and 3 tax 

17 benefits to reduce diesel emissions; 

18 (F) 94 different initiatives run by 11 dif19 ferent agencies to encourage ‘‘green building’’ 

20 in the private sector; and 

21 (G) 23 agencies implemented approxi22 mately 670 renewable energy initiatives in fiscal 

23 year 2010 at a cost of nearly $15 billion. 

24 (4) The Federal Government spends about $80 

25 billion each year for approximately 800 information 
93 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 technology investments. GAO has identified broad 

2 acquisition failures, waste, and unnecessary duplica3 tion in the Government’s information technology in4 frastructure. Experts have estimated that elimi5 nating these problems could save 25 percent – or 

6 $20 billion – of the Government’s annual informa7 tion technology budget. 

8 (5) GAO has identified strategic sourcing as a 

9 potential source of spending reductions. In 2011 

10 GAO estimated that saving 10 percent of the total 

11 or all Federal procurement could generate over $50 

12 billion in savings annually. 

13 (6) Federal agencies reported an estimated 

14 $108 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 

15 2012. 

16 (7) Under clause 2 of Rule XI of the Rules of 

17 the House of Representatives, each standing com18 mittee must hold at least one hearing during each 

19 120 day period following its establishment on waste, 

20 fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Government pro21 grams. 

22 (8) According to the Congressional Budget Of23 fice, by fiscal year 2015, 32 laws will expire, possibly 

24 resulting in $693 billion in unauthorized appropria25 tions. Timely reauthorizations of these laws would 
94 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 ensure assessments of program justification and ef2 fectiveness. 

3 (9) The findings resulting from congressional 

4 oversight of Federal Government programs should 

5 result in programmatic changes in both authorizing 

6 statutes and program funding levels. 

7 (b) POLICY ON DEFICIT REDUCTION THROUGH THE

8 REDUCTION OF UNNECESSARY AND WASTEFUL SPEND9 ING.—Each authorizing committee annually shall include 

10 in its Views and Estimates letter required under section 

11 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 rec12 ommendations to the Committee on the Budget of pro13 grams within the jurisdiction of such committee whose 

14 funding should be reduced or eliminated. 

15 SEC. 610. POLICY STATEMENT ON UNAUTHORIZED SPEND16 ING. 

17 It is the policy of this resolution that the committees 

18 of jurisdiction should review all unauthorized programs 

19 funded through annual appropriations to determine if the 

20 programs are operating efficiently and effectively. Com21 mittees should reauthorize those programs that in the 

22 committees’ judgment should continue to receive funding. 

23 SEC. 611. POLICY STATEMENT ON FEDERAL REGULATORY 

24 POLICY. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
95 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (1) Excessive regulation at the Federal level 

2 has hurt job creation and dampened the economy, 

3 slowing our recovery from the economic recession. 

4 (2) In the first two months of 2014 alone, the 

5 Administration issued 13,166 pages of regulations 

6 imposing more than $13 billion in compliance costs 

7 on job creators and adding more than 16 million 

8 hours of compliance paperwork. 

9 (3) The Small Business Administration esti10 mates that the total cost of regulations is as high as 

11 $1.75 trillion per year. Since 2009, the White House 

12 has generated over $494 billion in regulatory activ13 ity, with an additional $87.6 billion in regulatory 

14 costs currently pending. 

15 (4) The Dodd-Frank financial services legisla16 tion (Public Law 111–203) resulted in more than 

17 $17 billion in compliance costs and saddled job cre18 ators with more than 58 million hours of compliance 

19 paperwork. 

20 (5) Implementation of the Affordable Care Act 

21 to date has added 132.9 million annual hours of 

22 compliance paperwork, imposing $24.3 billion of 

23 compliance costs on the private sector and an $8 bil24 lion cost burden on the states. 
96 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (6) The highest regulatory costs come from 

2 rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency 

3 (EPA); these regulations are primarily targeted at 

4 the coal industry. In September 2013, the EPA pro5 posed a rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions 

6 from new coal-fired power plants. The proposed 

7 standards are unachievable with current commer8 cially available technology, resulting in a de-facto 

9 ban on new coal-fired power plants. Additional regu10 lations for existing coal plants are expected in the 

11 summer of 2014. 

12 (7) Coal-fired power plants provide roughly 

13 forty percent of the United States electricity at a 

14 low cost. Unfairly targeting the coal industry with 

15 costly and unachievable regulations will increase en16 ergy prices, disproportionately disadvantaging en17 ergy-intensive industries like manufacturing and 

18 construction, and will make life more difficult for 

19 millions of low-income and middle class families al20 ready struggling to pay their bills. 

21 (8) Three hundred and thirty coal units are 

22 being retired or converted as a result of EPA regula23 tions. Combined with the de-facto prohibition on new 

24 plants, these retirements and conversions may fur25 ther increase the cost of electricity. 
97 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (9) A recent study by Purdue University esti2 mates that electricity prices in Indiana will rise 32 

3 percent by 2023, due in part to EPA regulations. 

4 (10) The Heritage Foundation recently found 

5 that a phase out of coal would cost 600,000 jobs by 

6 the end of 2023, resulting in an aggregate gross do7 mestic product decrease of $2.23 trillion over the en8 tire period and reducing the income of a family of 

9 four by $1200 per year. Of these jobs, 330,000 will 

10 come from the manufacturing sector, with Cali11 fornia, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, 

12 New York, Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and 

13 Georgia seeing the highest job losses. 

14 (b) POLICY ON FEDERAL REGULATION.—It is the 

15 policy of this resolution that Congress should, in consulta16 tion with the public burdened by excessive regulation, 

17 enact legislation that— 

18 (1) seeks to promote economic growth and job 

19 creation by eliminating unnecessary red tape and 

20 streamlining and simplifying Federal regulations; 

21 (2) pursues a cost-effective approach to regula22 tion, without sacrificing environmental, health, safe23 ty benefits or other benefits, rejecting the premise 

24 that economic growth and environmental protection 

25 create an either/or proposition; 
98 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 (3) ensures that regulations do not dispropor2 tionately disadvantage low-income Americans 

3 through a more rigorous cost-benefit analysis, which 

4 also considers who will be most affected by regula5 tions and whether the harm caused is outweighed by 

6 the potential harm prevented; 

7 (4) ensures that regulations are subject to an 

8 open and transparent process, rely on sound and 

9 publicly available scientific data, and that the data 

10 relied upon for any particular regulation is provided 

11 to Congress immediately upon request; 

12 (5) frees the many commonsense energy and 

13 water projects currently trapped in complicated bu14 reaucratic approval processes; 

15 (6) maintains the benefits of landmark environ16 mental, health safety, and other statutes while scal17 ing back this administration’s heavy-handed ap18 proach to regulation, which has added $494 billion 

19 in mostly ideological regulatory activity since 2009, 

20 much of which flies in the face of these statutes’ in21 tended purposes; and 

22 (7) seeks to promote a limited government, 

23 which will unshackle our economy and create mil24 lions of new jobs, providing our Nation with a strong 
99 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 and prosperous future and expanding opportunities 

2 for the generations to come. 

3 SEC. 612. POLICY STATEMENT ON TRADE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 

5 (1) Opening foreign markets to American ex6 ports is vital to the United States economy and ben7 eficial to American workers and consumers. The 

8 Commerce Department estimates that every $1 bil9 lion of United States exports supports more than 

10 5,000 jobs here at home. 

11 (2) A modern and competitive international tax 

12 system would facilitate global commerce for United 

13 States multinational companies and would encourage 

14 foreign business investment and job creation in the 

15 United States 

16 (3) The United States currently has an anti17 quated system of international taxation whereby 

18 United States multinationals operating abroad pay 

19 both the foreign-country tax and United States cor20 porate taxes. They are essentially taxed twice. This 

21 puts them at an obvious competitive disadvantage. 

22 (4) The ability to defer United States taxes on 

23 their foreign operations, which some erroneously 

24 refer to as a ‘‘tax loophole,’’ cushions this disadvan25 tage to a certain extent. Eliminating or restricting 
100 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 this provision (and others like it) would harm United 

2 States competitiveness. 

3 (5) This budget resolution advocates funda4 mental tax reform that would lower the United 

5 States corporate rate, now the highest in the indus6 trialized world, and switch to a more competitive 

7 system of international taxation. This would make 

8 the United States a much more attractive place to 

9 invest and station business activity and would chip 

10 away at the incentives for United States companies 

11 to keep their profits overseas (because the United 

12 States corporate rate is so high). 

13 (6) The status quo of the current tax code un14 dermines the competitiveness of United States busi15 nesses and costs the United States economy invest16 ment and jobs. 

17 (7) Global trade and commerce is not a zero18 sum game. The idea that global expansion tends to 

19 ‘‘hollow out’’ United States operations is incorrect. 

20 Foreign-affiliate activity tends to complement, not 

21 substitute for, key parent activities in the United 

22 States such as employment, worker compensation, 

23 and capital investment. When United States 

24 headquartered multinationals invest and expand op-
101 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 erations abroad it often leads to more jobs and eco2 nomic growth at home. 

3 (8) American businesses and workers have 

4 shown that, on a level playing field, they can excel 

5 and surpass the international competition. 

6 (b) POLICY ON TRADE.—It is the policy of this reso7 lution to pursue international trade, global commerce, and 

8 a modern and competitive United States international tax 

9 system in order to promote job creation in the United 

10 States. 

11 SEC. 613. NO BUDGET, NO PAY. 

12 It is the policy of this resolution that Congress should 

13 agree to a concurrent resolution on the budget every year 

14 pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act 

15 of 1974. If by April 15, a House of Congress has not 

16 agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget, the pay17 roll administrator of that House should carry out this pol18 icy in the same manner as the provisions of Public Law 

19 113–3, the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013, and place 

20 in an escrow account all compensation otherwise required 

21 to be made for Members of that House of Congress. With22 held compensation should be released to Members of that 

23 House of Congress the earlier of the day on which that 

24 House of Congress agrees to a concurrent resolution on 
102 

•HCON 96 EH 

1 the budget, pursuant to section 301 of the Congressional 

2 Budget Act of 1974, or the last day of that Congress. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 10, 2014. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 96 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Establishing the budget for the United States Govthrough 2024. appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2016 ernment for fiscal year 2015 and setting forth