•HCON 71 EH 
fair-value basis to fully capture the risk associated 
with these programs. 
(b) POLICY ON FEDERAL ACCOUNTING METHODOLO-
GIES.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that 
the House should, in consultation with CBO and other ap-
propriate stakeholders, reform government-wide budget 
and accounting practices so Members and the public can 
better understand the fiscal condition of the United States 
and the best options to improve it. Such reforms may in-
clude the following: 
(1) Providing additional metrics to enhance 
analysis by considering the Nation’s fiscal condition 
comprehensively, over an extended time period, and 
how it affects Americans of various age cohorts. 
(2) Expanding the use of accrual accounting 
where appropriate. 
(3) Accounting for certain Federal credit pro-
grams using fair-value accounting to better capture 
market risk. 
SEC. 506. POLICY STATEMENT ON COMMISSION ON BUDGET 
CONCEPTS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1965, the President’s Commission on 
Budget Concepts made a series of recommendations
•HCON 71 EH 
that were adopted and continue to provide the foun-
dation for the Federal budget process. 
(2) Over the ensuing 52 years, the Federal 
budget 
process 
has 
undergone 
major 
trans-
formations, including the following: 
(A) Congress asserted its Article I ‘‘power 
of the purse’’ through the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 in the form of a congressional 
budget process predicated on the adoption of an 
annual budget resolution setting forth its prior-
ities independent of the executive branch. 
(B) Congress and the President have peri-
odically augmented the President’s budget sub-
mission and the budget resolution by estab-
lishing statutory budget rules and limits en-
forced through sequestration. 
(C) The share of Federal spending that is 
not controlled through the annual appropria-
tions process has ballooned from 32 percent of 
total Federal spending in 1967 to 69 percent in 
2016. 
(D) Activities previously considered the ex-
clusive domain of the Federal Government have 
been fully commercialized, contracted out to the 
private sector, financed through third party ar-
•HCON 71 EH 
rangements, or devolved to State and local gov-
ernments. 
(E) Key functions of the Federal Govern-
ment are now funded through user fees rather 
than general revenue, often shielding them from 
congressional control and oversight. 
(F) The Credit Reform Act of 1990 placed 
Federal loans and loan guarantees on an ac-
crual basis. 
(G) Increasing shares of the economy are 
directed towards compliance with Federal regu-
lations, which are not subject to the limitations 
applicable to Federal spending. 
(b) POLICY
ON COMMISSION
ON BUDGET CON-
CEPTS.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolution on 
the budget that legislation should be enacted that estab-
lishes a Commission on Budget Concepts to review and 
revise budget concepts and make recommendations to cre-
ate a more transparent Federal budget process. 
SEC. 507. POLICY STATEMENT ON BUDGET ENFORCEMENT. 
It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that the 
House should— 
(1) adopt an annual budget resolution before 
spending and tax legislation is considered in either 
House of Congress;
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(2) assess measures for timely compliance with 
budget rules in the House; 
(3) pass legislation to strengthen enforcement 
of the budget resolution; 
(4) comply with the discretionary spending lim-
its set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
Deficit Control Act of 1985; 
(5) prevent the use of accounting gimmicks to 
offset higher spending; 
(6) modify scoring conventions to encourage the 
commercialization of Federal Government activities 
that can best be provided by the private sector; and 
(7) discourage the use of savings identified in 
the budget resolution as offsets for spending or tax 
legislation. 
SEC. 508. POLICY STATEMENT ON IMPROPER PAYMENTS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The Government Accountability Office de-
fines improper payments as any reported payment 
that should not have been made or was made in an 
incorrect amount. 
(2) Improper payments totaled $1.2 trillion be-
tween fiscal years 2003 and 2016 with a reported 
Federal Government-wide error rate of 5.1 percent 
in fiscal year 2016.
•HCON 71 EH 
(3) Improper payments increased from $107 
billion in 2012 to $144 billion in 2016. 
(4) The Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicare, 
and Medicaid account for 78 percent of total im-
proper payments, with error rates of 24 percent, 11 
percent, and 10.5 percent, respectively. 
(5) Eight agencies did not report payment esti-
mates for 18 programs that the Comptroller General 
deems susceptible to significant improper payments. 
(b) POLICY ON IMPROPER PAYMENTS.—It is the pol-
icy of this concurrent resolution that an independent com-
mission should be established with the goal of finding tan-
gible solutions to reduce total improper payments by 50 
percent within the next 5 years. The commission should 
also develop a more-stringent system of agency oversight 
to achieve this goal. 
SEC. 509. POLICY STATEMENT ON EXPENDITURES FROM 
AGENCY FEES AND SPENDING. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Many Federal agencies and organizations 
have permanent authority to collect and spend fees 
and other offsetting collections. 
(2) The Office of Management and Budget esti-
mates the total amount of offsetting fees and collec-
tions to be $513 billion in fiscal year 2017.
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(3) Agency budget justifications are, in some 
cases, not fully transparent about the amount of 
program activity funded through offsetting collec-
tions or fees. This lack of transparency prevents ef-
fective and accountable Government. 
(b) POLICY ON EXPENDITURES FROM AGENCY FEES 
AND SPENDING.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolu-
tion that the House should reassert its constitutional pre-
rogative to control Federal spending and exercise rigorous 
oversight over Federal agencies. Congress should subject 
all fees paid by the public to Federal agencies to annual 
appropriations or authorizing legislation and a share of 
these proceeds should be reserved for taxpayers in the 
form of deficit reduction. 
SEC. 510. POLICY STATEMENT ON PROMOTING REAL 
HEALTH CARE REFORM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Patient-centered health care increases ac-
cess to quality care for all Americans, regardless of 
age, income, or health status. 
(2) States are best equipped to respond to the 
needs of their unique communities. 
(3) The current legal framework encourages 
frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that increase 
health care costs.
•HCON 71 EH 
(b) POLICY ON HEALTH CARE REGULATION.—It is 
the policy of this concurrent resolution that— 
(1) the American health care system should en-
courage research, development, and innovation in the 
medical sector, rather than stymie growth through 
over-regulation; 
(2) States should determine the parameters of 
acceptable private insurance plans based on the 
needs of their populations and retain control over 
other health care coverage standards; 
(3) reforms should protect patients with pre-ex-
isting conditions, reward those who maintain contin-
uous health coverage, and create greater parity be-
tween benefits offered through employers and those 
offered independently; 
(4) States should have greater flexibility in de-
signing their Medicaid program and State Children’s 
Health Insurance Program; 
(5) medical malpractice reform should empha-
size compliance with best practice guidelines, while 
continuing to protect patients’ interests; and 
(6) States should have the flexibility to imple-
ment medical liability policies to best suit their 
needs.
•HCON 71 EH 
SEC. 511. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICARE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) More than 57 million Americans depend on 
Medicare for their health security. 
(2) The Medicare Trustees Report has repeat-
edly recommended that Congress address Medicare’s 
long-term financial challenges. Each year without re-
form, the financial condition of Medicare becomes 
more precarious and the threat to those in or near 
retirement more pronounced. The current challenges 
that Congress will need to address include— 
(A) the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund 
will be exhausted in 2029 and unable to pay the 
scheduled benefits; 
(B) Medicare enrollment is expected to in-
crease more than 50 percent in the next two 
decades, as 10,000 baby boomers reach retire-
ment age each day; 
(C) due to extended life spans, enrollees 
remain in Medicare three times longer than at 
the outset of the program five decades ago; 
(D) notwithstanding the program’s trust 
fund arrangement, current workers’ payroll tax 
contributions pay for current Medicare bene-
ficiaries instead of being set aside for their own 
future use;
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(E) the number of workers supporting 
each beneficiary continues to fall; in 1965, the 
ratio was 4.5 workers per beneficiary, and by 
2030, the ratio will be only 2.4 workers per 
beneficiary; 
(F) the average Medicare beneficiary re-
ceives about three dollars in Medicare benefits 
for every dollar paid into the program; 
(G) Medicare is growing faster than the 
economy, with a projected growth rate of 7.2 
percent per year on average through 2026, 
peaking in 2026 at 9.2 percent; and 
(H) by 2027, Medicare spending will reach 
more than $1.4 trillion, more than double the 
2016 spending level of $692 billion. 
(3) Failing to address the impending insolvency 
of Medicare will leave millions of American seniors 
without adequate health security and younger gen-
erations burdened with having to pay for these 
unsustainable spending levels. 
(b) POLICY ON MEDICARE REFORM.—It is the policy 
of this concurrent resolution to save Medicare for those 
in or near retirement and to strengthen the program’s sol-
vency for future beneficiaries.
•HCON 71 EH 
(c) ASSUMPTIONS.—This concurrent resolution as-
sumes transition to an improved Medicare program that 
ensures— 
(1) Medicare is preserved for current and fu-
ture beneficiaries; 
(2) future Medicare beneficiaries may select 
from competing guaranteed health coverage options 
a plan that best suits their needs; 
(3) traditional fee-for-service Medicare remains 
a plan option; 
(4) Medicare provides additional assistance for 
lower-income beneficiaries and those with greater 
health risks; and 
(5) Medicare spending is put on a sustainable 
path and becomes solvent over the long term. 
SEC. 512. POLICY STATEMENT ON COMBATING THE OPIOID 
EPIDEMIC. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention (CDC), 91 Americans die each 
day from an opioid overdose. 
(2) Nearly half of all opioid overdose deaths in-
volve a prescription opioid. 
(3) Since 1999, the number of prescription 
opioids sold in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled.
•HCON 71 EH 
(4) Since 1999, the number of deaths from pre-
scription opioids has more than quadrupled. 
(5) The CDC asserts that improving opioid pre-
scribing practices will reduce exposure to opioids, 
prevent abuse, and stop addiction. 
(6) The CDC has found that individuals in 
rural counties are almost twice as likely to overdose 
on prescription painkillers as those in urban areas. 
(7) According to the CDC, nearly 7,000 people 
are treated in emergency rooms every day for using 
opioids in a non-approved manner. 
(8) The 21st Century Cures Act and the Com-
prehensive Addiction and Recovery Act were signed 
into law in the 114th Congress in an overwhelming 
display of congressional and executive branch sup-
port in the fight against the opioid epidemic. 
(9) Bipartisan efforts to eliminate opioid abuse 
and provide relief from addiction for all Americans 
should continue. 
(b) POLICY ON OPIOID ABUSE.—It is the policy of 
this concurrent resolution that— 
(1) combating opioid abuse using available 
budgetary resources remains a high priority; 
(2) the House, in a bipartisan manner, should 
continue to examine the Federal response to the
•HCON 71 EH 
opioid abuse epidemic and support essential activi-
ties to reduce and prevent substance abuse; 
(3) the House should continue to support initia-
tives included in the 21st Century Cures Act and the 
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act; 
(4) the House should continue its oversight ef-
forts, particularly ongoing investigations conducted 
by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
to ensure that taxpayer dollars intended to combat 
opioid abuse are spent appropriately and efficiently; 
and 
(5) the House should collaborate with State, 
local, and tribal entities to develop a comprehensive 
strategy for addressing the opioid addiction crisis. 
SEC. 513. POLICY STATEMENT ON THE STATE CHILDREN’S 
HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The State Children’s Health Insurance Pro-
gram (SCHIP) is a means-tested program that pro-
vides health insurance coverage to low-income chil-
dren and pregnant women who do not qualify for 
Medicaid based on income. 
(2) SCHIP eligibility varies by State, as States 
decide the income upper limit for beneficiaries; the 
current upper limit varies from 175 percent of the
•HCON 71 EH 
Federal poverty level to 405 percent of the Federal 
poverty level. 
(3) SCHIP covered on average 6.3 million peo-
ple monthly in fiscal year 2017. 
(4) The average cost of a child enrolled in 
SCHIP to the Federal Government was approxi-
mately $2,300 in fiscal year 2017, compared to ap-
proximately $1,910 for a child enrolled in Medicaid. 
(5) The Federal spending allotment for SCHIP 
will expire at the end of fiscal year 2017. 
(6) The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Ac-
cess Commission recommends an extension of Fed-
eral SCHIP funding, and warns that all States are 
projected to exhaust their Federal SCHIP funds 
during fiscal year 2018. 
(7) SCHIP should be preserved to assist the 
Nation’s vulnerable children. 
(b) POLICY ON THE STATE CHILDREN’S HEALTH IN-
SURANCE PROGRAM.—It is the policy of this concurrent 
resolution that— 
(1) the House should work in a bipartisan man-
ner to reauthorize SCHIP funding; 
(2) the authorizing committees should consider 
establishing a Federal upper limit for SCHIP eligi-
•HCON 71 EH 
bility, rather than providing open-ended access to 
the program for those at higher income levels; 
(3) the House should target resources des-
ignated for SCHIP toward those most in need of 
Federal assistance; and 
(4) the House should require greater reporting 
by States of SCHIP data in order to better struc-
ture the program to meet beneficiaries’ needs. 
SEC. 514. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICAL DISCOVERY, 
DEVELOPMENT, 
DELIVERY, 
AND 
INNOVA-
TION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The Nation’s commitment to the discovery, 
development, and delivery of new treatments and 
cures has made the United States the biomedical in-
novation capital of the world for decades. 
(2) The history of scientific discovery and med-
ical breakthroughs in the United States is extensive, 
including the creation of the polio vaccine, the first 
genetic 
mapping, 
and 
the 
invention 
of 
the 
implantable cardiac pacemaker. 
(3) Reuters ranks the United States Health and 
Human Services Laboratories as first in the world 
for innovation on its 2017 list of the Top 25 Global 
Innovators.
•HCON 71 EH 
(4) The United States leads the world in the 
production of medical devices, and the United States 
medical device market accounts for approximately 45 
percent of the global market. 
(5) The United States remains a global leader 
in pharmaceutical research and development invest-
ment, has produced more than half of the world’s 
new molecules in the past decade, and represents the 
world’s largest pharmaceutical market, which is tri-
ple the size of the nearest rival, China. 
(b) POLICY ON MEDICAL INNOVATION.—It is the pol-
icy of this concurrent resolution that— 
(1) the Federal Government should foster in-
vestment in health care innovation and maintain the 
Nation’s world leadership status in medical science 
by encouraging competition; 
(2) the House should continue to support the 
critical work of medical innovators throughout the 
country through continued funding for agencies, in-
cluding the National Institutes of Health and the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to con-
duct life-saving research and development; and 
(3) the Federal Government should unleash the 
power of private-sector medical innovation by remov-
100 
•HCON 71 EH 
ing regulatory obstacles that impede the adoption of 
new medical technology and pharmaceuticals. 
SEC. 515. POLICY STATEMENT ON PUBLIC HEALTH PRE-
PAREDNESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The Constitution requires the Federal Gov-
ernment to provide for the common defense. As 
such, the Nation must prioritize its ability to re-
spond rapidly and effectively to a public health crisis 
or bioterrorism threat. 
(2) There is a persistent threat of bioterrorism 
against American lives. 
(3) Naturally-occurring public health threats 
can spread through the transmission of commu-
nicable diseases during international trade and trav-
el. 
(4) As of April 3, 2016, the World Health Or-
ganization reported nearly 29,000 cases of the Ebola 
virus worldwide, including 4 instances in the U.S. 
(5) As of July 12, 2017, the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the 
current Zika epidemic resulted in over 5,000 cases 
of the Zika virus within the United States, with 
nearly 37,000 more cases reported in U.S. terri-
tories.
101 
•HCON 71 EH 
(6) Preventing the spread of disease to Ameri-
cans requires halting threats before they breach the 
U.S. border. 
(7) The United States is a leader in global pub-
lic health assistance and orchestrates international 
responses to health crises. 
(b) POLICY ON PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS.— 
It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that— 
(1) the House should continue to fund activities 
of the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and 
the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development 
Authority to develop and stockpile medical counter-
measures to infectious diseases and chemical, bio-
logical, radiological, and nuclear agents; 
(2) the House should, within available budg-
etary resources, provide continued support for re-
search, prevention, and public health preparedness 
programs; 
(3) the Federal Government should encourage 
private-sector development of critical vaccines and 
other medical countermeasures to emerging public 
health threats; and 
(4) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of 
State should collaborate on global health prepared-
102 
•HCON 71 EH 
ness initiatives to prevent overlap and promote re-
sponsible stewardship of taxpayer resources. 
SEC. 516. POLICY STATEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) More than 60 million retirees, individuals 
with disabilities, and survivors depend on Social Se-
curity. Since enactment, Social Security has served 
as a vital leg of the ‘‘three-legged stool’’ of retire-
ment security, which includes employer provided 
pensions as well as personal savings. 
(2) Lower-income Americans rely on Social Se-
curity for a larger proportion of their retirement in-
come. Therefore, reforms should take into consider-
ation the need to protect lower income Americans’ 
retirement security. 
(3) The Social Security Trustees Report has re-
peatedly recommended that Social Security’s long- 
term financial challenges be addressed soon. The fi-
nancial condition of Social Security and the threat 
to seniors and those receiving Social Security dis-
ability benefits becomes more pronounced each year 
without reform. For example— 
(A) in 2028, the Disability Insurance 
Trust Fund will be exhausted and program rev-
103 
•HCON 71 EH 
enues will be unable to pay scheduled benefits; 
and 
(B) with the exhaustion of both the Dis-
ability Insurance Trust Fund and the Old-Age 
and Survivors and Disability Trust Fund in 
2035, benefits will be cut by as much as 25 
percent across the board, devastating those cur-
rently in or near retirement and those who rely 
on Social Security the most. 
(4) The recession and continued low economic 
growth have exacerbated the looming fiscal crisis 
facing Social Security. The most recent Congres-
sional Budget Office (CBO) projections find that So-
cial Security will run cash deficits of more than $1.3 
trillion over the next 10 years. 
(5) The Disability Insurance program provides 
an essential income safety net for those with disabil-
ities and their families. According to CBO, between 
1970 and 2015 the number of disabled workers and 
their dependent family members receiving disability 
benefits has increased by more than 300 percent 
from 2.7 million to over 10.9 million. This increase 
is not due strictly to population growth or decreases 
in health. CBO also attributes program growth to
104 
•HCON 71 EH 
changes in demographics and the composition of the 
labor force as well as Federal policies. 
(6) In the past, Social Security has been re-
formed on a bipartisan basis, most notably by the 
‘‘Greenspan Commission’’, which helped address So-
cial Security shortfalls for more than a generation. 
(7) Americans deserve action by the President 
and Congress to preserve and strengthen Social Se-
curity to ensure that Social Security remains a crit-
ical part of the safety net. 
(b) POLICY ON SOCIAL SECURITY.—It is the policy 
of this concurrent resolution that the House should work 
in a bipartisan manner to make Social Security solvent 
on a sustainable basis. This concurrent resolution as-
sumes, under a reform trigger, that— 
(1) if in any year the Board of Trustees of the 
Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 
Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust 
Fund annual Trustees Report determines that the 
75-year actuarial balance of the Social Security 
Trust Funds is in deficit, and the annual balance of 
the Social Security Trust Funds in the 75th year is 
in deficit, the Board of Trustees should, no later 
than September 30 of the same calendar year, sub-
mit to the President recommendations for statutory
105 
•HCON 71 EH 
reforms necessary to achieve a positive 75-year actu-
arial balance and a positive annual balance in the 
75th year, and any recommendations provided to the 
President must be agreed upon by both Public 
Trustees of the Board of Trustees; 
(2) not later than December 1 of the same cal-
endar year in which the Board of Trustees submit 
its recommendations, the President should promptly 
submit implementing legislation to both Houses of 
Congress including recommendations necessary to 
achieve a positive 75-year actuarial balance and a 
positive annual balance in the 75th year, and the 
majority leader of the Senate and the majority lead-
er of the House should introduce the President’s leg-
islation upon receipt; 
(3) within 60 days of the President submitting 
legislation, the committees of jurisdiction should re-
port a bill, which the House or Senate should con-
sider under expedited procedures; and 
(4) legislation submitted by the President 
should— 
(A) protect those in or near retirement; 
(B) preserve the safety net for those who 
count on Social Security the most, including 
those with disabilities and survivors;
106 
•HCON 71 EH 
(C) improve fairness for participants; 
(D) reduce the burden on and provide cer-
tainty for future generations; and 
(E) secure the future of the Disability In-
surance program while addressing the needs of 
those with disabilities today and improving the 
determination process. 
(c) POLICY ON DISABILITY INSURANCE.—It is the 
policy of this concurrent resolution that the House should 
consider legislation on a bipartisan basis to reform the 
Disability Insurance program prior to its insolvency in 
2028 and should not raid the Social Security retirement 
system without reforms to the Disability Insurance sys-
tem. This concurrent resolution assumes reform that— 
(1) promotes opportunity for those trying to re-
turn to work; 
(2) ensures benefits continue to be paid to indi-
viduals with disabilities and their family members 
who rely on them; 
(3) prevents a 7 percent across-the-board ben-
efit cut; and 
(4) improves the Disability Insurance program. 
(d) POLICY ON SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENCY.—It is 
the policy of this concurrent resolution that any legislation 
the House considers to improve the solvency of the Dis-
107 
•HCON 71 EH 
ability Insurance Trust Fund must also improve the long- 
term solvency of the combined Old Age and Survivors Dis-
ability Insurance Trust Fund. 
SEC. 517. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICAID WORK RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Medicaid is a Federal-State program that 
provides health care coverage for impoverished 
Americans. 
(2) Medicaid serves four major population cat-
egories: the elderly, the blind and disabled, children, 
and adults. 
(3) The Congressional Budget Office projects 
the average monthly enrollment in Medicaid for fis-
cal year 2018 to be 78 million people. 
(4) Of this 78 million people, 27 million – more 
than one third of the enrollees – are non-elderly, 
non-disabled adults. 
(5) 
Medicaid 
continues 
to 
grow 
at 
an 
unsustainable rate, and will cost approximately one 
trillion dollars per year within the decade, between 
Federal and State spending. 
(6) Congress has a responsibility to preserve 
limited Medicaid resources for America’s most vul-
nerable – those who cannot provide for themselves.
108 
•HCON 71 EH 
(7) Forbes reported last year on a first-of-its- 
kind study conducted by the Foundation for Govern-
ment Accountability. It analyzed data from the State 
of Kansas, which demonstrates that work require-
ments have led to greater employment, higher in-
comes, and less poverty. 
(8) The State of Maine implemented work re-
quirements in 2014, and saw incomes rise for able- 
bodied welfare recipients by an average of 114 per-
cent within a year. 
(9) Work is a valuable source of human dignity, 
and work requirements help lift Americans out of 
poverty by incentivizing self-reliance. 
(b) POLICY ON MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS.— 
It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that— 
(1) Congress should enact legislation that en-
courages 
able-bodied, 
non-elderly, 
non-pregnant 
adults without dependents to work, actively seek 
work, participate in a job-training program, or do 
community service, in order to receive Medicaid; 
(2) Medicaid work requirements legislation 
could include 30 hours per week of work, of which 
20 of those hours should be spent in the core activi-
ties of: public or private sector employment, work 
experience, on-the-job training, job-search or job-
109 
•HCON 71 EH 
readiness assistance program participation, commu-
nity service, or vocational training and education; 
(3) States should be given flexibility to deter-
mine the parameters of qualifying program partici-
pation and work-equivalent experience; 
(4) States should perform regular case checks 
to ensure taxpayer dollars are appropriately spent; 
and 
(5) the Government Accountability Office or the 
Department of Health and Human Services Inspec-
tor General should conduct annual audits of State 
Medicaid programs to ensure proper reporting and 
prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. 
SEC. 518. POLICY STATEMENT ON WELFARE REFORM AND 
SUPPLEMENTAL 
NUTRITION 
ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM WORK REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program (SNAP) has grown from 17 
million Americans in 2001 to 44 million in 2016. 
(2) The work support role of SNAP has de-
clined, and the program increasingly serves as a re-
placement to work. 
(3) Work requirements were key to the success 
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor-
110 
•HCON 71 EH 
tunity Act (Public Law 104–193), which led to a 
two-thirds reduction in welfare caseloads, a reduc-
tion in child poverty, and an increase in work par-
ticipation. The successful 1996 welfare reform law 
provides a model for improving work requirements in 
other anti-poverty programs. 
(b) POLICY ON WELFARE REFORM AND SNAP WORK 
REQUIREMENTS.—It is the policy of this concurrent reso-
lution that— 
(1) the welfare system should reward work, pro-
vide tools to escape poverty, and expect work-capable 
adults to work or prepare for work in exchange for 
welfare benefits; and 
(2) SNAP should be reformed to improve work 
requirements to help more people escape poverty and 
move up the economic ladder. 
SEC. 519. POLICY STATEMENT ON STATE FLEXIBILITY IN 
SUPPLEMENTAL 
NUTRITION 
ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Spending on Supplemental Nutrition Assist-
ance Program (SNAP) has almost quadrupled since 
2001. 
(2) Various factors are driving this growth, but 
one major reason is that while States have the re-
111 
•HCON 71 EH 
sponsibility of administering the program, they have 
little incentive to ensure it is well run. 
(3) In 1996, a Republican Congress and a 
Democratic President reformed welfare by limiting 
the duration of benefits, giving States more control 
over the program, and helping recipients find work. 
In the 5 years following passage, child-poverty rates 
fell, welfare caseloads fell, and workers’ wages in-
creased. This bipartisan success offers a model for 
improving other anti-poverty programs. 
(b) POLICY ON STATE FLEXIBILITY IN SNAP.—It 
is the policy of this concurrent resolution that SNAP 
should be reformed to reduce poverty and increase oppor-
tunity and upward mobility for struggling Americans on 
the road to personal and financial independence. Based 
on the successful welfare reforms of the 1990s, these pro-
posals would improve work requirements and provide flexi-
ble funding for States to help those most in need find 
gainful employment, escape poverty, and move up the eco-
nomic ladder. 
SEC. 520. POLICY STATEMENT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND 
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY. 
(a) FINDINGS ON HIGHER EDUCATION.—The House 
finds the following:
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•HCON 71 EH 
(1) A well-educated, high-skilled workforce is 
critical to economic, job, and wage growth. 
(2) Average published tuition and fees have in-
creased consistently above the rate of inflation 
across all types of colleges and universities. 
(3) With an outstanding student loan portfolio 
of $1.3 trillion, the Federal Government is the larg-
est education lender to undergraduate and graduate 
students, parents, and other guarantors. 
(4) Students who do not complete their college 
degree are at a greater risk of defaulting on their 
loans than those who complete their degree. 
(5) Participation in Federal income-driven re-
payment plans is rising, in terms of the percent of 
both borrowers and loan dollars, according to the 
Government Accountability Office. Because these 
plans offer loan balance forgiveness after a repay-
ment period, this increased use portends higher pro-
jected costs to taxpayers. 
(b) POLICY ON HIGHER EDUCATION.—It is the policy 
of this concurrent resolution to promote college afford-
ability, access, and success by— 
(1) reserving Federal financial aid for those 
most in need and streamlining grant and loan aid 
programs to help students and families more easily
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assess their options for financing postsecondary edu-
cation; and 
(2) removing regulatory barriers to reduce 
costs, increase access, and allow for innovative 
teaching models. 
(c) FINDINGS ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—The 
House finds the following: 
(1) 7.5 million Americans are currently unem-
ployed. 
(2) Despite billions of dollars in spending, those 
looking for work are stymied by a broken workforce 
development system that fails to connect workers 
with assistance and employers with skilled personnel. 
(3) The House Committee on Education and 
the Workforce successfully consolidated 15 workforce 
development programs when Congress enacted the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014. 
(d) POLICY ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—It is 
the policy of this concurrent resolution to build on the suc-
cess of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
by— 
(1) further streamlining and consolidating Fed-
eral workforce development programs; and
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(2) empowering States with the flexibility to 
tailor funding and programs to the specific needs of 
their workforce. 
SEC. 521. POLICY STATEMENT ON SUPPLEMENTAL WILD-
FIRE SUPPRESSION FUNDING. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) In 1995, fire activities made up 16 percent 
of the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) an-
nual appropriated budget. Since 2015, more than 50 
percent has now been dedicated to wildfire. 
(2) Wildland fire suppression activities are cur-
rently funded entirely within the USFS budget, 
based on a 10-year rolling average. Using this 
model, the agency must average firefighting costs 
from the past 10 years to predict and request costs 
for the next year. When the average was stable, the 
agency was able to use this model to budget consist-
ently for the annual costs associated with wildland 
fire suppression. 
(3) Over the last few decades, wildland fire sup-
pression costs have increased as fire seasons have 
grown longer and the frequency, size, and severity of 
wildland fires has increased. 
(4) The six worst fire seasons since 1960 have 
all occurred since 2000. Since 2000, many western
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states have experienced the largest wildfires in their 
State’s history. In 2016 alone, there were a recorded 
67,595 fires and a total of over 5.5 million acres 
burned. The suppression costs to USFS and other 
Federal agencies for 2016 totaled over $1.9 billion 
dollars. 
(5) As wildfire costs continue to increase, fund-
ing levels for USFS wildfire suppression activities 
will also continue to constrict funding levels for 
other necessary USFS forest management activities 
focused on land management and wildfire preven-
tion. 
(b) POLICY ON SUPPLEMENTAL WILDFIRE SUPPRES-
SION FUNDING.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolu-
tion that Congress, in coordination with the Administra-
tion, should develop both a long-term funding mechanism 
that would allow supplemental wildfire suppression fund-
ing and reforms on reducing hazardous fuel loads on Fed-
eral forests and lands that could decrease wildfires. 
SEC. 522. POLICY STATEMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) For years there have been serious concerns 
regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA)
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bureaucratic mismanagement and continuous failure 
to provide veterans timely access to health care. 
(2) Since 2003, VA disability compensation and 
health care have been added to the Government Ac-
countability Office’s (GAO) ‘‘high-risk’’ list, due to 
mismanagement and oversight failures, lack of a 
‘‘unified vision, strategy, or set of goals to guide 
their outcomes,’’ and the inability to ensure allo-
cated resources are used in a cost-effective and effi-
cient way to improve veterans’ health care access. 
(3) The VA’s failure to provide timely and ac-
cessible health care to America’s veterans is unac-
ceptable. While Congress has done its part for more 
than a decade by providing sufficient funding for the 
VA, the agency has mismanaged these resources, re-
sulting in proven adverse effects on veterans and 
their families. 
(b) POLICY ON THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that 
the House should require the VA to conduct an audit of 
its programs named on GAO’s ‘‘high-risk’’ list and report 
its findings to the Committee on Appropriations, the Com-
mittee on the Budget, and the Committee on Veterans Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives.
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SEC. 523. POLICY STATEMENT ON MOVING THE UNITED 
STATES POSTAL SERVICE ON BUDGET. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The President’s Commission on Budget 
Concepts recommends that the budget should, as a 
general rule, be comprehensive of the full range of 
Federal activity. 
(2) The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1989 
(Public Law 101–239) moved the United States 
Postal Service (USPS) off budget and exempted it 
from sequestration. 
(3) The USPS has a direct effect on the fiscal 
posture of the Federal Government, through— 
(A) the receipt of direct appropriations of 
$35 million in fiscal year 2017; 
(B) congressional mandates such as re-
quirements for mail delivery service schedules; 
(C) incurring $15 billion in debt from the 
Treasury, the maximum permitted by law; 
(D) continued operating deficits since 
2007; 
(E) defaulting on its statutory obligation 
to prefund health care benefits for future retir-
ees; and
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(F) carrying $119 billion in total unfunded 
liabilities with no foreseeable pathway of fund-
ing these liabilities under current law. 
(b) POLICY ON MOVING THE USPS ON BUDGET.— 
It is the policy of this concurrent resolution that all re-
ceipts and disbursements of the USPS should be included 
in the congressional budget and the budget of the Federal 
Government. 
SEC. 524. POLICY STATEMENT ON THE JUDGMENT FUND. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) The Judgment Fund (Fund), established in 
1956, was created to pay judgments and settlements 
of lawsuits against the Federal Government. 
(2) As a result of the Fund’s design, it is ripe 
for executive branch exploitation. The Obama Ad-
ministration used the Fund to make billions of dol-
lars in payments to Federal agencies and foreign en-
tities. For example— 
(A) on January 17, 2016, the State De-
partment announced the Federal Government 
agreed to pay the Iranian government $1.7 bil-
lion to settle a case related to the sale of mili-
tary equipment prior to the Iranian revolution, 
of which $1.3 billion was sourced through the 
Fund, without prior congressional notification;
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the Obama Administration’s use of the Fund to 
make this and other payments raises serious 
concerns by sidestepping Congress; and 
(B) in 2016, the Department of Health 
and Human Services announced its intentions 
to use the Fund for settlements with health in-
surers who sued the Federal Government over 
the loss of funds for risk corridors under the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 
(3) Failing to address the lack of oversight over 
the Fund annually costs taxpayers billions of dollars, 
as payments exceeded $4.6 billion in 2016 and more 
than $26 billion in the preceding 10 year period. 
(b) POLICY ON JUDGMENT FUND.—It is the policy 
of this concurrent resolution that the House should con-
sider legislation that reclaims Congress’s power of the 
purse over the Fund. Such legislation should— 
(1) prohibit interest payments paid from the 
Fund for accounts or assets frozen by the Federal 
Government and listed on— 
(A) the Sanctions Programs list of the Of-
fice of Foreign Asset Control of the Depart-
ment of Treasury; or 
(B) Sponsors of Terrorism list of the De-
partment of State;
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•HCON 71 EH 
(2) amend sections 2414 and 1304 of titles 28 
and 31, United States Code, respectively, to— 
(A) provide a clear definition and expla-
nation of a ‘‘foreign court or tribunal’’; and 
(B) 
require 
congressional 
notification 
whenever the Fund makes a settlement or court 
ordered lump sum or aggregated payment ex-
ceeding $500 million; and 
(3) require legislative action to approve pay-
ments from the Fund in excess of a specified thresh-
old, increase transparency, and require Federal 
agencies to reimburse the Fund over a fixed time pe-
riod. 
SEC. 525. POLICY STATEMENT ON RESPONSIBLE STEWARD-
SHIP OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds that significant 
savings were achieved by the House by consolidating oper-
ations and renegotiating contracts. 
(b) POLICY
ON RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP
OF 
TAXPAYER DOLLARS.—It is the policy of this concurrent 
resolution that— 
(1) the House should be a model for the respon-
sible stewardship of taxpayer resources, and identify 
any savings that can be achieved through greater 
productivity and efficiency gains in the operation
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and maintenance of House services and resources, 
including 
printing, 
conferences, 
utilities, 
tele-
communications, furniture, grounds maintenance, 
postage, and rent; 
(2) the House should review policies and proce-
dures for the acquisition of goods and services to 
eliminate unnecessary spending; 
(3) the Committee on House Administration 
should review the policies pertaining to services pro-
vided to Members and committees of the House, and 
identify ways to reduce any subsidies paid for the 
operation of the House gym, barber shop, salon, and 
the House dining room; 
(4) no taxpayer funds should be used to pur-
chase first class airfare or to lease corporate jets for 
Members of Congress; and 
(5) retirement benefits for Members of Con-
gress should not include free, taxpayer-funded health 
care for life. 
SEC. 526. POLICY STATEMENT ON TAX REFORM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) A world-class tax system should be simple, 
fair, and promote (rather than impede) economic 
growth. The United States tax code fails on all 3 
counts: it is complex, unfair, and inefficient. The tax
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code’s complexity distorts decisions to work, save, 
and invest, which leads to slower economic growth, 
lower wages, and less job creation. 
(2) Standard economic theory holds that high 
marginal tax rates lessen the incentives to work, 
save, and invest, which reduces economic output and 
job creation. Lower economic output, in turn, mutes 
the intended revenue gain from higher marginal tax 
rates. 
(3) Roughly half of United States active busi-
ness income and half of private sector employment 
are derived from business entities (such as partner-
ships, S corporations, and sole proprietorships) that 
are taxed on a ‘‘pass-through’’ basis, meaning the 
income is taxed at individual rates rather than cor-
porate rates. Small businesses, in particular, tend to 
choose this form for Federal tax purposes, and the 
highest Federal rate on such small business income 
can reach nearly 45 percent. For these reasons, 
sound economic policy requires lowering marginal 
rates on these pass-through entities. 
(4) The top United States corporate income tax 
rate (including Federal, State, and local taxes) is 
slightly more than 39 percent, the highest rate in 
the industrialized world. Tax rates this high sup-
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press wages, discourage investment and job creation, 
distort business activity, and put American busi-
nesses at a competitive disadvantage with foreign 
competitors. 
(5) By deterring potential investment, the 
United States corporate tax restrains economic 
growth and job creation. The United States tax rate 
differential fosters a variety of complicated multi-
national corporate practices intended to avoid the 
tax, which have the effect of moving the tax base 
offshore, destroying American jobs, and decreasing 
corporate revenue. 
(6) The ‘‘world-wide’’ structure of United 
States international taxation essentially taxes earn-
ings of United States firms twice, putting them at 
a significant competitive disadvantage with competi-
tors that have more competitive international tax 
systems. 
(7) Reforming the tax code would boost the 
competitiveness of United States companies oper-
ating abroad and significantly reduce tax avoidance. 
(8) The tax code imposes costs on American 
workers through lower wages, consumers in higher 
prices, and investors in diminished returns.
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(9) Increasing taxes to raise revenue and meet 
out-of-control spending would sink the economy and 
Americans’ ability to save for their children’s edu-
cation and retirement. 
(10) Closing special preference carve outs in 
our tax code to finance higher spending does not 
constitute fundamental tax reform. 
(11) Tax reform should curb or eliminate tax 
breaks and use those savings to lower tax rates 
across the board, not to fund more wasteful Federal 
Government spending. Washington has a spending 
problem, not a revenue problem. 
(12) Many economists believe that fundamental 
tax reform, including a broader tax base and lower 
tax rates, would lead to greater labor supply and in-
creased investment, which would have a positive im-
pact on total national output. 
(b) POLICY ON TAX REFORM.—It is the policy of this 
concurrent resolution that the House should consider com-
prehensive tax reform legislation that promotes economic 
growth, creates American jobs, increases wages, and bene-
fits American consumers, investors, and workers by— 
(1) simplifying the tax code to make it fairer to 
American families and businesses and reducing the
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amount of time and resources necessary to comply 
with tax laws; 
(2) substantially lowering tax rates for individ-
uals and consolidating the current seven individual 
income tax brackets into fewer brackets; 
(3) repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax; 
(4) reducing the corporate tax rate; and 
(5) transitioning the tax code to a more com-
petitive system of international taxation. 
Passed the House of Representatives October 5, 
2017. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 71 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Establishing the congressional budget for the 
United States Government for fiscal year 2018 
and setting forth the appropriate budgetary lev-
els for fiscal years 2019 through 2027.