I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4320 
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require long-term cost 
benefit analyses of introduced bills. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2012 
Mr. FATTAH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require 
long-term cost benefit analyses of introduced bills. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reinvesting and En-
suring America’s Ability to Lead Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The bedrock of the Nation’s economic 
strength and future growth will be directly attrib-
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uted to the robust Federal investment in critical 
areas such as education, science, technology, engi-
neering, and mathematics. 
(2) Recognizing the importance of education 
and its role in maintaining America’s position as an 
economic global leader, President George H.W. Bush 
stated that ‘‘U.S. students must be the first in the 
world in math and science achievement. Every 
American adult must be a skilled, literate worker 
and citizen.’’. 
(3) As President Bill Clinton recognized when 
he created the National Economic Council in 1992, 
‘‘The currency of national strength in this new era 
will be denominated not only in ships and tanks and 
planes, but in diplomas and patents and pay-
checks.’’. 
(4) Recognizing diplomas and patents will not 
occur without investing in education, President 
George W. Bush stated that ‘‘we must address the 
low standing of American test scores amongst indus-
trialized nations in math and science, the very sub-
jects most likely to affect our future competitive-
ness’’. 
(5) Similarly, President Obama has stated that 
America’s future economic growth and international 
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competitiveness depend on our Nation’s willingness 
to educate, invest, and innovate. 
(6) As stated in a recent report from the Na-
tional Economic Council, the Nation must ‘‘create 
the jobs and industries of the future by doing what 
America does best—investing in the creativity and 
imagination of our people. To win the future, we 
must out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the 
rest of the world.’’. 
(7) Accordingly, Congress should be provided 
the means to evaluate legislative worth beyond its 
impact to the annual budget. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET 
ACT OF 1974. 
Section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
(2 U.S.C. 653) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘SEC. 
402.’’ and by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b)(1) The Director of the Congressional Budget Of-
fice shall, to the extent practicable, prepare a ten-year 
long-term cost benefit analysis for each introduced bill or 
resolution of a public character that determines its impact 
on American global competitiveness as defined by the Con-
gressional Budget Office. 
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‘‘(2) The Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
shall devise criteria to evaluate American global competi-
tiveness, including the bill or resolution’s impact on— 
‘‘(A) job creation; 
‘‘(B) economic growth; 
‘‘(C) consumption; 
‘‘(D) investments; and 
‘‘(E) savings. 
‘‘(3) The analysis referred to in paragraph (1) shall 
evaluate whether the introduced bill or resolution will posi-
tively or negatively impact America’s economic ability to 
compete globally compared to member nations of the 
Group of Twenty, or G-20, which comprise of 19 country 
members and the European Union, accounting 90 percent 
of global gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 percent 
of global trade.’’. 
Æ 
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