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(c) POLICY ON DISABILITY INSURANCE.—It is the 
policy of this resolution that Congress and the President 
should enact legislation on a bipartisan basis to reform 
the Disability Insurance program prior to its insolvency 
in 2016 and should not raid the Social Security retirement 
system without reforms to the Disability Insurance sys-
tem. 
SEC. 606. POLICY STATEMENT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND 
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY. 
(a) FINDINGS ON HIGHER EDUCATION.—The House 
finds the following: 
(1) A well-educated workforce is critical to eco-
nomic, job, and wage growth. 
(2) 19.5 million students are enrolled in Amer-
ican colleges and universities. 
(3) Over the last decade, tuition and fees have 
been growing at an unsustainable rate. Between the 
2002-2003 Academic Year and the 2012-2013 Aca-
demic Year— 
(A) published tuition and fees for in-State 
students at public four-year colleges and univer-
sities increased at an average rate of 5.2 per-
cent per year beyond the rate of general infla-
tion; 
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(B) published tuition and fees for in-State 
students at public two-year colleges and univer-
sities increased at an average rate of 3.9 per-
cent per year beyond the rate of general infla-
tion; and 
(C) published tuition and fees for in-State 
students at private four-year colleges and uni-
versities increased at an average rate of 2.4 
percent per year beyond the rate of general in-
flation. 
(4) Over that same period, Federal financial aid 
has increased 105 percent. 
(5) This spending has failed to make college 
more affordable. 
(6) In his 2012 State of the Union Address, 
President Obama noted that, ‘‘We can’t just keep 
subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of 
money.’’. 
(7) American students are chasing ever-increas-
ing tuition with ever-increasing debt. According to 
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student 
debt more than quadrupled between 2003 and 2013, 
and now stands at nearly $1.1 trillion. Student debt 
now has the second largest balance after mortgage 
debt. 
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(8) Students are carrying large debt loads and 
too many fail to complete college or end up default-
ing on these loans due to their debt burden and a 
weak economy and job market. 
(9) Based on estimates from the Congressional 
Budget Office, the Pell Grant Program will face a 
fiscal shortfall beginning in fiscal year 2016 and 
continuing in each subsequent year in the current 
budget window. 
(10) Failing to address these problems will 
jeopardize access and affordability to higher edu-
cation for America’s young people. 
(b) POLICY
ON
HIGHER
EDUCATION
AFFORD-
ABILITY.—It is the policy of this resolution to address the 
root drivers of tuition inflation, by— 
(1) targeting Federal financial aid to those 
most in need; 
(2) streamlining programs that provide aid to 
make them more effective; 
(3) maintaining the maximum Pell grant award 
level at $5,730 in each year of the budget window; 
and 
(4) removing regulatory barriers in higher edu-
cation that act to restrict flexibility and innovative 
teaching, particularly as it relates to non-traditional 
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models such as online coursework and competency- 
based learning. 
(c) FINDINGS ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—The 
House finds the following: 
(1) Over ten million Americans are currently 
unemployed. 
(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 trained per-
sonnel. 
(4) According to a 2011 Government Account-
ability Office (GAO) report, in fiscal year 2009, the 
Federal Government spent $18 billion across 9 agen-
cies to administer 47 Federal job training programs, 
almost all of which overlapped with another program 
in terms of offered services and targeted population. 
(5) Since the release of that GAO report, the 
Education and Workforce Committee, which has 
done extensive work in this area, has identified more 
than 50 programs. 
(3) Without changes, this flawed system will 
continue to fail those looking for work or to improve 
their skills, and jeopardize economic growth. 
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(d) POLICY ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—It is 
the policy of this resolution to address the failings in the 
current workforce development system, by— 
(1) streamlining and consolidating Federal job 
training programs as advanced by the House-passed 
Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong 
Skills Act (SKILLS Act); and 
(2) empowering states with the flexibility to tai-
lor funding and programs to the specific needs of 
their workforce, including the development of career 
scholarships. 
SEC. 607. POLICY STATEMENT ON DEFICIT REDUCTION 
THROUGH THE CANCELLATION OF UNOBLI-
GATED BALANCES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) According to the most recent estimate from 
the Office of Management and Budget, Federal 
agencies were expected to hold $739 billion in unob-
ligated balances at the close of fiscal year 2014. 
(2) These funds represent direct and discre-
tionary spending made available by Congress that 
remains available for expenditure beyond the fiscal 
year for which they are provided. 
(3) In some cases, agencies are granted funding 
and it remains available for obligation indefinitely. 
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