•HCON 71 RH 
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 
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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-
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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. 
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(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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