•HCON 27 RH 
(1) Permanent extension of tax laws should not 
be used as a means to increase taxes on other tax-
payers; 
(2) For those expiring tax provisions that are 
proposed to be permanently extended, Congress 
should use a more realistic baseline that does not re-
quire them to be offset; and, 
(3) Tax-reform legislation should not include 
tax increases just to offset the extension of current 
tax laws. 
(d) LEGISLATION.—The Committee on the Budget 
intends to draft legislation during the 114th Congress that 
will rewrite the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 to fulfill the goals of making the con-
gressional budget process more effective in ensuring tax-
payers’ dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. 
SEC. 803. POLICY STATEMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND 
JOB CREATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Although the United States economy tech-
nically emerged from recession more than 5 years 
ago, the subsequent recovery has felt more like a 
malaise than a rebound. Real gross domestic product 
GDP growth over the past 5 years has averaged 
slightly more than 2 percent, well below the 3.2 per-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00083
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
cent historical trend rate of growth in the United 
States. Although the economy has shown some wel-
come signs of improvement of late, the Nation re-
mains in the midst of the weakest economic recovery 
of the modern era. 
(2) Looking ahead, CBO expects the economy 
to grow by an average of just 2.3 percent over the 
next 10 years. That level of economic growth is sim-
ply unacceptable and insufficient to expand opportu-
nities and the incomes of millions of middle-income 
Americans. 
(3) Sluggish economic growth has also contrib-
uted to the country’s fiscal woes. Subpar growth 
means that revenue levels are lower than they would 
otherwise be while government spending (e.g. welfare 
and income-support programs) is higher. Clearly, 
there is a dire need for policies that will spark high-
er rates of economic growth and greater, higher- 
quality job opportunities 
(4) Although job gains have been trending up 
of late, other aspects of the labor market remain 
weak. The labor force participation rate, for in-
stance, is hovering just under 63 percent, close to 
the lowest level since 1978. Long-term unemploy-
ment also remains a problem. Of the roughly 8.7 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
million people who are currently unemployed, 2.7 
million (more than 30 percent) have been unem-
ployed for more than 6 months. Long-term unem-
ployment erodes an individual’s job skills and de-
taches them from job opportunities. It also under-
mines the long-term productive capacity of the econ-
omy. 
(5) Perhaps most important, wage gains and in-
come growth have been subpar for middle-class 
Americans. Average hourly earnings of private-sector 
workers have increased by just 1.6 percent over the 
past year. Prior to the recession, average hourly 
earnings were tracking close to 4 percent. Likewise, 
average income levels have remained flat in recent 
years. Real median household income is just under 
$52,000, one of the lowest levels since 1995. 
(6) The unsustainable fiscal trajectory has cast 
a shadow on the country’s economic outlook. inves-
tors and businesses make decisions on a forward- 
looking basis. they know that today’s large debt lev-
els are simply tomorrow’s tax hikes, interest rate in-
creases, or inflation and they act accordingly. This 
debt overhang, and the uncertainty it generates, can 
weigh on growth, investment, and job creation. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
(7) Nearly all economists, including those at the 
CBO, conclude that reducing budget deficits (there-
by bending the curve on debt levels is a net positive 
for economic growth over time. The logic is that def-
icit reduction creates long-term economic benefits 
because it increases the pool of national savings and 
boosts investment, thereby raising economic growth 
and job creation. 
(8) CBO analyzed the House Republican fiscal 
year 2016 budget resolution and found it would in-
crease real output per capita (a proxy for a coun-
try’s standard of living) by about $1,000 in 2025 
and roughly $5,000 by 2040 relative to the baseline 
path. That means more income and greater pros-
perity for all Americans. 
(9) In contrast, if the Government remains on 
the current fiscal path, future generations will face 
ever-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. 
(10) The key economic challenge is determining 
how to expand the economic pie, not how best to di-
vide up and re-distribute a shrinking pie. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
(11) A stronger economy is vital to lowering 
deficit levels and eventually balancing the budget. 
According to CBO, if annual real GDP growth is 
just 0.1 percentage point higher over the budget 
window, deficits would be reduced by $326 billion. 
(12) This budget resolution therefore embraces 
pro-growth policies, such as fundamental tax reform, 
that will help foster a stronger economy, greater op-
portunities and more job creation. 
(b) POLICY ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOB CRE-
ATION.—It is the policy of this resolution to promote fast-
er economic growth and job creation. By putting the budg-
et on a sustainable path, this resolution ends the debt- 
fueled uncertainty holding back job creators. Reforms to 
the tax code will put American businesses and workers in 
a better position to compete and thrive in the 21st century 
global economy. This resolution targets the regulatory red 
tape and cronyism that stack the deck in favor of special 
interests. All of the reforms in this resolution serve as 
means to the larger end of helping the economy grow and 
expanding opportunity for all Americans. 
SEC. 804. 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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
growth. The United States tax code fails on all three 
counts: It is notoriously complex, patently unfair, 
and highly inefficient. The tax code’s complexity dis-
torts decisions to work, save, and invest, which leads 
to slower economic growth, lower wages, and less job 
creation. 
(2) Over the past decade alone, there have been 
4,107 changes to the tax code, more than one per 
day. Many of the major changes over the years have 
involved carving out special preferences, exclusions, 
or deductions for various activities or groups. These 
loopholes add up to more than $1 trillion per year 
and make the code unfair, inefficient, and highly 
complex. 
(3) In addition, these tax preferences are dis-
proportionately used by upper-income individuals. 
(4) The large amount of tax preferences that 
pervade the code end up narrowing the tax base. A 
narrow tax base, in turn, requires much higher tax 
rates to raise a given amount of revenue. 
(5) It is estimated that American taxpayers end 
up spending $160 billion and roughly 6 billion hours 
a year complying with the tax code waste of time 
and resources that could be used in more productive 
activities. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00088
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
(6) Standard economic theory shows that high 
marginal tax rates dampen 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. 
(7) Roughly half of U.S. active business income 
and half of private sector employment are derived 
from business entities (such as partnerships, S cor-
porations, and sole proprietorships) that are taxed 
on a ‘‘pass-through’’ basis, meaning the income 
flows through to the tax returns of the individual 
owners and is taxed at the individual rate structure 
rather than at the corporate rate. Small businesses, 
in particular, tend to choose this form for Federal 
tax purposes, and the top Federal rate on such small 
business income can reach nearly 45 percent. For 
these reasons, sound economic policy requires low-
ering marginal rates on these pass-through entities. 
(8) The U.S. corporate income tax rate (includ-
ing Federal, State, and local taxes) sums to slightly 
more than 39 percent, the highest rate in the indus-
trialized world. Tax rates this high suppress wages 
and discourage investment and job creation, distort 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00089
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
business activity, and put American businesses at a 
competitive disadvantage with foreign competitors. 
(9) By deterring potential investment, the U.S. 
corporate tax restrains economic growth and job cre-
ation. The U.S. tax rate differential with other coun-
tries also fosters a variety of complicated multi-
national corporate behaviors intended to avoid the 
tax, which have the effect of moving the tax base 
offshore, destroying American jobs, and decreasing 
corporate revenue. 
(10) The ‘‘worldwide’’ structure of U.S. inter-
national taxation essentially taxes earnings of 
United States firms twice, putting them at a signifi-
cant competitive disadvantage with competitors with 
more competitive international tax systems. 
(11) Reforming the United States tax code to 
a more competitive international system would boost 
the competitiveness of United States companies op-
erating abroad and it would also greatly reduce tax 
avoidance. 
(12) The tax code imposes costs on American 
workers through lower wages, on consumers in high-
er prices, and on investors in diminished returns. 
(13) Revenues have averaged about 17.4 per-
cent of the economy throughout modern American 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00090
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
history. Revenues rise above this level under current 
law to 18.3 percent of the economy by the end of the 
10-year budget window. 
(14) Attempting to raise revenue through new 
tax increases to meet out-of-control spending would 
sink the economy and Americans’ ability to save for 
their retirement and their children’s education. 
(15) This resolution also rejects the idea of in-
stituting a carbon tax in the United States, which 
some have offered as a new source of revenue. Such 
a plan would damage the economy, cost jobs, and 
raise prices on American consumers. 
(16) Closing tax loopholes to fund spending 
does not constitute fundamental tax reform. 
(17) The goal of tax reform should be to curb 
or eliminate loopholes and use those savings to lower 
tax rates across the board not to fund more wasteful 
Government spending. Washington has a spending 
problem, not a revenue problem. 
(18) Many economists believe that fundamental 
tax reform (i.e. a broader tax base and lower tax 
rates) would lead to greater labor supply and in-
creased investment, which, over time, would have a 
positive impact on total national output. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
(19) Heretofore, the congressional scorekeepers 
the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the 
Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). 
(20) Static scoring implicitly assumes that the 
size of the economy (and therefore key economic 
variables such as labor supply and investment) re-
mains fixed throughout the considered budget hori-
zon. This is an abstraction from reality. 
(21) A new House rule was adopted at the be-
ginning of the 114th Congress to help correct this 
problem. This rule requires CBO and JCT to incor-
porate the macroeconomic effects of major legisla-
tion into their official cost estimates. 
(22) This rule seeks to bridge the divide be-
tween static estimates and scoring that incorporates 
economic feedback effects by providing policymakers 
with a greater amount of information about the like-
ly economic impact of policies under their consider-
ation while at the same time preserving traditional 
scoring methods and reporting conventions. 
(b) POLICY ON TAX REFORM.—It is the policy of this 
resolution that Congress should enact legislation that pro-
vides for a comprehensive reform of the United States tax 
code to promote economic growth, create American jobs, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
increase wages, and benefit American consumers, inves-
tors, and workers through fundamental tax reform that— 
(1) simplifies the tax code to make it fairer to 
American families and businesses and reduces the 
amount of time and resources necessary to comply 
with tax laws; 
(2) substantially lowers tax rates for individuals 
and consolidates the current seven individual income 
tax brackets into fewer brackets; 
(3) repeals the Alternative Minimum Tax; 
(4) reduces the corporate tax rate; and 
(5) transitions the tax code to a more competi-
tive system of international taxation in a manner 
that does not discriminate against any particular 
type of income or industry. 
SEC. 805. POLICY STATEMENT ON TRADE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) Opening foreign markets to American ex-
ports is vital to the United States economy and ben-
eficial to American workers and consumers. The 
Commerce Department estimates that every $1 bil-
lion of United States exports supports more than 
5,000 jobs here at home. 
(2) The United States can increase economic 
opportunities for American workers and businesses 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
through the expansion of trade, adherence to trade 
agreement rules by the United States and its trading 
partners, and the elimination of foreign trade bar-
riers to United States goods and services. 
(3) Trade Promotion Authority is a bipartisan 
and bicameral effort to strengthen the role of Con-
gress in setting negotiating objectives for trade 
agreements, to improve consultation with Congress 
by the Administration, and to provide a clear frame-
work for congressional consideration and implemen-
tation of trade agreements. 
(4) Global trade and commerce is not a zero- 
sum game. The idea that global expansion tends to 
‘‘hollow out’’ United States operations is incorrect. 
Foreign-affiliate activity tends to complement, not 
substitute for, key parent activities in the United 
States such as employment, worker compensation, 
and 
capital 
investment. 
When 
United 
States 
headquartered multinationals invest and expand op-
erations abroad it often leads to more jobs and eco-
nomic growth at home. 
(5) Trade agreements have saved the average 
American family of four more than $10,000 per 
year, as a result of lower duties. Trade agreements 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00094
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
also lower the cost of manufacturing inputs by re-
moving duties. 
(6) American businesses and workers have 
shown that, on a level playing field, they can excel 
and surpass the international competition. 
(7) When negotiating trade agreements, United 
States laws on Intellectual Property (IP) protection 
should be used as a benchmark for establishing glob-
al IP frameworks. Strong IP protections have con-
tributed significantly to the United States status as 
a world leader in innovation across sectors, including 
in the development of life-saving biologic medicines. 
The data protections afforded to biologics in United 
States law, including 12 years of data protection, 
allow continued development of pioneering medicines 
to benefit patients both in the United States and 
abroad. To maintain the cycle of innovation and 
achieve truly 21st century trade agreements, it is 
vital that our negotiators insist on the highest stand-
ards for IP protections. 
(8) The status quo of the current tax code also 
undermines the competitiveness of United States 
businesses and costs the United States economy in-
vestment and jobs. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00095
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
(9) The United States currently has an anti-
quated system of international taxation whereby 
United States multinationals operating abroad pay 
both the foreign-country tax and United States cor-
porate taxes. They are essentially taxed twice. This 
puts them at an obvious competitive disadvantage. A 
modern and competitive international tax system 
would facilitate global commerce for United States 
multinational companies and would encourage for-
eign business investment and job creation in the 
United States. 
(10) The ability to defer United States taxes on 
their foreign operations, which some erroneously 
refer to as a ‘‘tax loophole,’’ cushions this disadvan-
tage to a certain extent. Eliminating or restricting 
this provision (and others like it) would harm United 
States competitiveness. 
(11) This budget resolution advocates funda-
mental tax reform that would lower the United 
States corporate rate, now the highest in the indus-
trialized world, and switch to a more competitive 
system of international taxation. This would make 
the United States a much more attractive place to 
invest and station business activity and would chip 
away at the incentives for United States companies 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00096
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 27 RH 
to keep their profits overseas (because the United 
States corporate rate is so high). 
(b) POLICY ON TRADE.—It is the policy of this con-
current resolution to pursue international trade, global 
commerce, and a modern and competitive United States 
international tax system to promote job creation in the 
United States. The United States should continue to seek 
increased economic opportunities for American workers 
and businesses through the expansion of trade opportuni-
ties, adherence to trade agreements and rules by the 
United States and its trading partners, and the elimi-
nation of foreign trade barriers to United States goods 
and services by opening new markets and by enforcing 
United States rights. To that end, Congress should pass 
Trade Promotion Authority to strengthen the role of Con-
gress in setting negotiating objectives for trade agree-
ments, to improve consultation with Congress by the Ad-
ministration, and to provide a clear framework for con-
gressional consideration and implementation of trade 
agreements. 
SEC. 806. POLICY STATEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following: 
(1) More than 55 million retirees, individuals 
with disabilities, and survivors depend on Social Se-
curity. Since enactment, Social Security has served 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:58 Mar 20, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC27.RH
HC27
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS