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revenue levels are lower than they would otherwise 
be while Government spending (including welfare 
and income-support programs) is higher. There is 
dire need for policies that will initiate higher rates 
of economic growth and greater, higher-quality job 
opportunities. 
(2) Even more disturbing, estimates of future 
economic growth have been falling in recent years. 
In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ex-
pected real GDP to grow by a relatively brisk 3 per-
cent annual average over the budget window. In its 
latest economic forecast, CBO expects growth to av-
erage just 2.1 percent over the next decade. This 
anemic growth rate is insufficient to increase job op-
portunities and incomes to acceptable levels. 
(3) Although the overall trend of job gains has 
been solid of late, other aspects of the labor market 
remain relatively weak. For example— 
(A) the labor force participation rate 
stands at just 62.9 percent, down roughly 3 
percentage points since early 2009, and near its 
lowest level since 1978; 
(B) long-term unemployment remains a 
problem, and of the 7.8 million people who are 
currently unemployed, slightly more than 2 mil-
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•HCON 125 RH 
lion (28 percent) have been unemployed for 
more than 6 months; and 
(C) long-term unemployment erodes an in-
dividual’s job skills and detaches such indi-
vidual from job opportunities, and undermines 
the long-term productive capacity of the econ-
omy. 
(4) Wage gains and income growth have been 
subpar for middle-class Americans. Average hourly 
earnings of private-sector workers have increased by 
2.4 percent over the past year. Prior to the reces-
sion, growth in average hourly earnings was tracking 
close to 4 percent. Similarly, average incomes have 
remained flat in recent years. Real median house-
hold income has declined by roughly $800 in 2014 
to $53,657. This represents a sharp fall of 6.5 per-
cent, or $3,700, since 2007. 
(5) The unsustainable fiscal trajectory casts a 
shadow on the country’s economic outlook. Investors 
and businesses make decisions on a prospective 
basis. They know that today’s high debt levels are 
simply tomorrow’s tax hikes, interest rate increases, 
or inflation—and they act accordingly. This debt 
overhang, and the uncertainty it generates, can 
weigh on growth, investment, and job creation. 
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(6) Nearly all economists, including those at 
CBO, conclude that reducing budget deficits (there-
by bending the curve on debt levels) is a net positive 
for economic growth over time. 
(7) In contrast, if the Government remains on 
the current fiscal path, future generations will face 
even-higher debt service costs, a decline in national 
savings, and a ‘‘crowding out’’ of private investment. 
This dynamic will eventually lead to a decline in eco-
nomic output and a diminution in our country’s 
standard of living. 
(8) The key economic challenge is determining 
how to expand the economic pie, not how best to di-
vide up and redistribute a shrinking pie. 
(9) A stronger economy is vital to lowering def-
icit levels and eventually balancing the budget. Ac-
cording to CBO, if annual real GDP growth is just 
0.1 percentage point higher over the budget window, 
deficits would be reduced by $327 billion. 
(b) POLICY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOB CRE-
ATION.—It is the policy of this concurrent resolution to 
promote faster economic growth and job creation by em-
bracing pro-growth policies, such as fundamental tax re-
form, that will help foster a stronger economy, greater op-
portunities, and more job creation. By putting the budget 
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on a sustainable path, this concurrent resolution ends the 
debt-fueled uncertainty holding back job creators. Tax re-
form will put American businesses and workers in a better 
position to compete and thrive in the 21st century global 
economy. This concurrent resolution targets the regu-
latory red tape and cronyism that favor special interests. 
The reforms in this concurrent resolution serve as a means 
to the larger end of helping the economy grow and expand-
ing opportunity for all Americans. 
SEC. 605. POLICY STATEMENT ON FEDERAL REGULATORY 
BUDGETING AND REFORM. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Excessive Federal regulation— 
(A) has hurt job creation, investment, 
wages, competition, and economic growth, slow-
ing the Nation’s recovery from the economic re-
cession and harming American households; 
(B) operates as a regressive tax on poor 
and lower-income households; 
(C) displaces workers into long-term unem-
ployment or lower-paying jobs; 
(D) adversely affects small businesses, the 
primary source of new jobs; and 
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(E) impedes the economic growth nec-
essary to provide sufficient funds to meet vital 
commitments and reduce the Federal debt. 
(2) Federal agencies routinely fail to identify 
and eliminate, minimize, or mitigate excess regu-
latory costs through post-implementation assess-
ments of their regulations. 
(3) The estimated cost of Federal regulations 
are as high as $1.88 to $2.03 trillion per year. 
(4) The estimated annual level of Federal regu-
latory costs— 
(A) equals roughly $15,000 per United 
States household, or 30 percent of average 
household income; 
(B) exceeds both individual and corporate 
Federal income rates; and 
(C) exceeded 11 percent of United States 
gross domestic product in 2015. 
(5) If regulatory costs represented an inde-
pendent economy, the estimated annual level of these 
costs would qualify as one of the world’s top 10 
economies, ranking between India and Russia, 
roughly equaling one-half of Germany’s economy and 
40 percent of Japan’s economy. 
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