[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 27 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 30
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 27
[Report No. 114-47]
Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal
year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2017 through 2025.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2015
Mr. Tom Price of Georgia, from the Committee on the Budget, reported
the following concurrent resolution; which was committed to the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to
be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal
year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2017 through 2025.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016.
(a) Declaration.--The Congress determines and declares that this
concurrent resolution establishes the budget for fiscal year 2016 and
sets forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through
2025.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this concurrent
resolution is as follows:
Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2016.
TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS
Sec. 101. Recommended levels and amounts.
Sec. 102. Major functional categories.
TITLE II--RECONCILIATION
Sec. 201. Reconciliation in the House of Representatives.
Sec. 202. Reconciliation procedures.
Sec. 203. Additional guidance for reconciliation.
TITLE III--SUBMISSIONS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE
Sec. 301. Submissions of findings for the elimination of waste, fraud,
and abuse.
TITLE IV--BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 401. Cost estimates for major legislation to incorporate
macroeconomic effects.
Sec. 402. Limitation on measures affecting Social Security solvency.
Sec. 403. Budgetary treatment of administrative expenses.
Sec. 404. Limitation on transfers from the general fund of the Treasury
to the Highway Trust Fund.
Sec. 405. Limitation on advance appropriations.
Sec. 406. Fair value credit estimates.
Sec. 407. Limitation on long-term spending.
Sec. 408. Allocation for overseas contingency operations/global war on
terrorism.
Sec. 409. Adjustments for improved control of budgetary resources.
Sec. 410. Concepts, aggregates, allocations and application.
Sec. 411. Rulemaking powers.
TITLE V--RESERVE FUNDS
Sec. 501. Reserve fund for the repeal of the President's health care
law.
Sec. 502. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for promoting real health care
reform.
Sec. 503. Deficit-neutral reserve fund related to the Medicare
provisions of the President's health care
law.
Sec. 504. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for the State Children's Health
Insurance Program.
Sec. 505. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for graduate medical education.
Sec. 506. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for trade agreements.
Sec. 507. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for reforming the tax code.
Sec. 508. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for revenue measures.
Sec. 509. Deficit-neutral reserve fund to reduce poverty and increase
opportunity and upward mobility.
Sec. 510. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for transportation.
Sec. 511. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for Federal retirement reform.
Sec. 512. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for defense sequester
replacement.
Sec. 513. Deficit-neutral reserve fund for overseas contingency
operations/global war on terrorism.
TITLE VI--ESTIMATES OF DIRECT SPENDING
Sec. 601. Direct spending.
TITLE VII--RECOMMENDED LONG-TERM LEVELS
Sec. 701. Long-term budgeting.
TITLE VIII--POLICY STATEMENTS
Sec. 801. Policy statement on balanced budget amendment.
Sec. 802. Policy statement on budget process and baseline reform.
Sec. 803. Policy statement on economic growth and job creation.
Sec. 804. Policy statement on tax reform.
Sec. 805. Policy statement on trade.
Sec. 806. Policy statement on Social Security.
Sec. 807. Policy statement on repealing the President's health care law
and promoting real health care reform.
Sec. 808. Policy statement on Medicare.
Sec. 809. Policy statement on medical discovery, development, delivery
and innovation.
Sec. 810. Policy statement on Federal regulatory reform.
Sec. 811. Policy statement on higher education and workforce
development opportunity.
Sec. 812. Policy statement on Department of Veterans Affairs.
Sec. 813. Policy statement on Federal accounting methodologies.
Sec. 814. Policy statement on scorekeeping for outyear budgetary
effects in appropriation Acts.
Sec. 815. Policy statement on reducing unnecessary, wasteful, and
unauthorized spending.
Sec. 816. Policy statement on deficit reduction through the
cancellation of unobligated balances.
Sec. 817. Policy statement on agency fees and spending.
Sec. 818. Policy statement on responsible stewardship of taxpayer
dollars.
Sec. 819. Policy statement on ``No Budget, No Pay''.
Sec. 820. Policy statement on national security funding.
TITLE I--RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS
SEC. 101. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS.
The following budgetary levels are appropriate for each of fiscal
years 2016 through 2025:
(1) Federal revenues.--For purposes of the enforcement of
this concurrent resolution:
(A) The recommended levels of Federal revenues are
as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $2,666,755,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: $2,763,328,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: $2,858,131,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: $2,974,147,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: $3,099,410,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: $3,241,963,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: $3,388,688,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $3,550,388,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $3,722,144,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $3,905,648,000,000.
(B) The amounts by which the aggregate levels of
Federal revenues should be changed are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $0.
Fiscal year 2017: $0.
Fiscal year 2018: $0.
Fiscal year 2019: $0.
Fiscal year 2020: $0.
Fiscal year 2021: $0.
Fiscal year 2022: $0.
Fiscal year 2023: $0.
Fiscal year 2024: $0.
Fiscal year 2025: $0.
(2) New budget authority.--For purposes of the enforcement
of this concurrent resolution, the budgetary levels of total
new budget authority are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $2,934,975,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: $2,873,969,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: $2,944,013,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: $3,091,040,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: $3,248,109,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: $3,327,968,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: $3,462,962,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $3,529,073,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $3,586,467,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $3,715,272,000,000.
(3) Budget outlays.--For purposes of the enforcement of
this concurrent resolution, the budgetary levels of total
budget outlays are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $3,009,033,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: $2,893,883,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: $2,927,040,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: $3,062,131,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: $3,205,489,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: $3,298,907,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: $3,452,463,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $3,497,911,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $3,538,398,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $3,685,320,000,000.
(4) Deficits (on-budget).--For purposes of the enforcement
of this concurrent resolution, the amounts of the deficits (on-
budget) are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: -$342,278,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: -$130,555,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: -$68,909,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: -$87,984,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: -$106,079,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: -$56,944,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: -$63,775,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $52,477,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $183,746,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $220,418,000,000.
(5) Debt subject to limit.--The budgetary levels of the
public debt are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $19,047,763,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: $19,393,542,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: $19,641,396,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: $19,947,774,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: $20,261,172,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: $20,505,542,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: $20,906,471,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $21,075,678,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $20,916,009,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $20,904,522,000,000.
(6) Debt held by the public.--The budgetary levels of debt
held by the public are as follows:
Fiscal year 2016: $13,838,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017: $14,040,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018: $14,145,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019: $14,338,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020: $14,560,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021: $14,742,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022: $15,128,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023: $15,300,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024: $15,162,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025: $15,235,000,000,000.
SEC. 102. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES.
The Congress determines and declares that the budgetary levels of
new budget authority and outlays for fiscal years 2016 through 2025 for
each major functional category are:
(1) National Defense (050):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $531,334,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $564,027,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $582,506,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $572,025,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $607,744,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $586,422,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $620,019,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $604,238,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $632,310,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $617,553,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $644,627,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $630,610,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $657,634,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $648,269,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $670,997,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $656,389,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $683,771,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $663,936,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $698,836,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $683,350,000,000.
(2) International Affairs (150):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $38,342,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $42,923,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $39,623,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $40,821,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $40,539,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $39,736,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $41,437,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $39,214,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $42,390,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $39,564,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $42,861,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $40,108,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $44,081,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $40,868,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $45,070,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $41,633,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $46,098,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $42,470,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $47,148,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $43,349,000,000.
(3) General Science, Space, and Technology (250):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $28,381,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $29,003,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $28,932,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $28,924,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $29,579,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $29,357,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $30,227,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $29,798,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $30,904,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $30,388,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $31,584,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $30,957,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $32,293,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $31,637,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $33,003,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $32,338,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $33,742,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,059,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $34,488,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,795,000,000.
(4) Energy (270):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority -$3,581,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $654,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $1,410,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $649,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $1,189,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $234,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $1,196,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $307,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $1,259,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $472,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $1,309,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $728,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $1,335,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $863,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $1,375,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,000,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $1,332,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $1,037,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$964,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$1,215,000,000.
(5) Natural Resources and Environment (300):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $35,350,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,113,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $36,047,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,268,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $36,385,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,674,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $37,206,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $37,747,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $38,171,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,304,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $38,367,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,685,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $39,221,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $39,361,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $40,108,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $40,319,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $40,962,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $40,486,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $39,095,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $38,471,000,000.
(6) Agriculture (350):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $20,109,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,164,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $23,064,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,194,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $21,987,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $21,396,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $20,907,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $20,275,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $19,835,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,386,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $19,296,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $18,849,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $19,245,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $18,830,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $19,821,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,391,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $20,020,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,553,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $20,256,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,851,000,000.
(7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority -$3,269,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$16,617,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, -$12,373,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$26,620,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, -$10,252,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$24,998,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, -$8,801,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$28,587,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, -$6,903,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$27,479,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, -$6,522,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$21,769,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, -$5,742,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$22,819,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, -$4,965,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$23,306,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, -$3,991,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$23,635,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$3,370,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$23,845,000,000.
(8) Transportation (400):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $36,743,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $79,181,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $69,381,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $69,500,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $70,298,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $73,623,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $76,397,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $76,051,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $77,763,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $76,767,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $79,149,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $78,369,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $80,613,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $79,946,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $82,128,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $81,336,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $83,709,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $82,724,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $85,335,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $83,983,000,000.
(9) Community and Regional Development (450):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $7,082,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $19,928,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $7,688,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $16,753,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $8,089,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $15,383,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $8,381,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $13,789,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $8,409,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $12,567,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $8,305,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $12,095,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $8,304,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $10,937,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $8,359,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $9,345,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $8,447,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $8,890,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $8,579,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $8,930,000,000.
(10) Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services
(500):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $80,620,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,389,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $84,746,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,513,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $87,029,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $87,366,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $85,514,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $85,290,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $87,901,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $87,669,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $88,908,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $89,276,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $90,148,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $90,467,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $91,237,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $91,646,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $92,744,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $93,101,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $94,400,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $94,734,000,000.
(11) Health (550):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $416,475,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $426,860,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $360,678,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $364,823,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $358,594,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $360,468,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $367,103,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $367,916,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $387,076,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $377,341,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $388,981,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $389,025,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $398,136,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $398,233,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $408,454,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $408,529,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $425,381,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $425,477,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $433,945,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $434,143,000,000.
(12) Medicare (570):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $577,726,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $577,635,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $580,837,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $580,777,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $580,782,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $580,741,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $639,293,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $639,213,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $680,575,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $680,481,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $726,644,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $726,548,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $808,204,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $808,100,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $825,577,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $825,379,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $834,148,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $834,037,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $927,410,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $927,292,000,000.
(13) Income Security (600):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $512,364,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $513,709,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $479,836,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $475,234,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $481,994,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $471,951,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $483,293,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $477,470,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $516,193,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $510,603,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $502,001,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $496,856,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $518,690,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $518,542,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $525,230,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $519,391,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $532,515,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $521,105,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $550,057,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $543,361,000,000.
(14) Social Security (650):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $33,878,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,919,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $36,535,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $36,535,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $39,407,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $39,407,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $42,634,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $42,634,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $46,104,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $46,104,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $49,712,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $49,712,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $53,547,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $53,547,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $57,455,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $57,455,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $61,546,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $61,546,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $65,751,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $65,751,000,000.
(15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $166,677,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $170,121,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $164,843,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $164,387,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $163,009,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $162,385,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $174,862,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $174,048,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $179,735,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $178,778,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $183,969,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $183,019,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $196,283,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $195,255,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $192,866,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $191,834,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $189,668,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $188,553,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $203,517,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $202,383,000,000.
(16) Administration of Justice (750):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $52,156,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $56,006,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $55,450,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $57,547,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $55,169,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $56,659,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $56,854,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $56,572,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $58,585,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $58,392,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $60,498,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $59,992,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $63,032,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $62,485,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $64,917,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $64,355,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $66,844,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $66,264,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $68,632,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $68,051,000,000.
(17) General Government (800):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $23,593,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,576,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $22,761,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,202,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $22,817,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,279,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $23,252,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,084,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $23,947,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $23,602,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $24,192,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $24,309,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $24,981,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $25,114,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $25,695,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $25,840,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $26,010,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $25,878,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $26,968,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $26,825,000,000.
(18) Net Interest (900):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $366,527,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $366,527,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $414,768,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $414,768,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $477,731,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $477,731,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $531,032,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $531,032,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $578,654,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $578,654,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $612,121,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $612,121,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $642,388,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $642,388,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $667,089,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $667,089,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $684,301,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $684,301,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $695,929,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $695,929,000,000.
(19) Allowances (920):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority -$33,462,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$17,275,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, -$29,863,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$24,277,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, -$32,175,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$28,249,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, -$34,261,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$31,078,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, -$39,009,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$35,136,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, -$42,221,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$38,438,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, -$46,013,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$42,205,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, -$49,123,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$45,430,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, -$50,652,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$47,736,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$48,913,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$48,058,000,000.
(20) Government-wide savings (930):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $27,465,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $18,416,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, -$15,712,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$3,005,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, -$32,429,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$20,148,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, -$41,554,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$32,383,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, -$50,240,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$42,168,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, -$55,831,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$50,276,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, -$63,954,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$57,849,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, -$71,850,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$65,124,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, -$78,889,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$71,689,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -
$113,903,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$93,929,000,000.
(21) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority -$73,514,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$73,514,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, -$83,832,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$83,832,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, -$90,115,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$90,115,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, -$90,594,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$90,594,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, -$92,193,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$92,193,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, -$96,623,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$96,623,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, -$99,437,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$99,437,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, -
$104,343,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$104,343,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, -
$111,213,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$111,213,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -
$117,896,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$117,896,000,000.
(22) Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on
Terrorism (970):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority $94,000,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $44,304,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, $26,666,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $33,716,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, $26,666,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $26,758,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, $26,666,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $26,117,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, $26,666,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $25,862,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, $26,666,000,000.
(B) Outlays, $24,776,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $9,956,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $2,869,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $278,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, $0.
(B) Outlays, $0.
(23) Across-the-Board Adjustment (990):
Fiscal year 2016:
(A) New budget authority -$21,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$17,000,000.
Fiscal year 2017:
(A) New budget authority, -$22,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$20,000,000.
Fiscal year 2018:
(A) New budget authority, -$23,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$21,000,000.
Fiscal year 2019:
(A) New budget authority, -$23,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$22,000,000.
Fiscal year 2020:
(A) New budget authority, -$24,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$23,000,000.
Fiscal year 2021:
(A) New budget authority, -$24,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$23,000,000.
Fiscal year 2022:
(A) New budget authority, -$25,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$24,000,000.
Fiscal year 2023:
(A) New budget authority, -$26,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$25,000,000.
Fiscal year 2024:
(A) New budget authority, -$26,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$25,000,000.
Fiscal year 2025:
(A) New budget authority, -$27,000,000.
(B) Outlays, -$26,000,000.
TITLE II--RECONCILIATION
SEC. 201. RECONCILIATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
(a) Submission Providing for Deficit Reduction.--Not later than
July 15, 2015, the committees named in subsection (b) shall submit
their recommendations to the Committee on the Budget of the House of
Representatives to carry out this section.
(b) Instructions.--
(1) Committee on agriculture.--The Committee on Agriculture
shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient
to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(2) Committee on armed services.--The Committee on Armed
Services shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction
sufficient to reduce the deficit by $100,000,000 for the period
of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(3) Committee on education and the workforce.--The
Committee on Education and the Workforce shall submit changes
in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the
deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016
through 2025.
(4) Committee on energy and commerce.--The Committee on
Energy and Commerce shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(5) Committee on financial services.--The Committee on
Financial Services shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $100,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(6) Committee on homeland security.--The Committee on
Homeland Security shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $15,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(7) Committee on the judiciary.--The Committee on the
Judiciary shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction
sufficient to reduce the deficit by $100,000,000 for the period
of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(8) Committee on natural resources.--The Committee on
Natural Resources shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $100,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(9) Committee on oversight and government reform.--The
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform shall submit
changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce
the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years
2016 through 2025.
(10) Committee on science, space, and technology.--The
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology shall submit
changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce
the deficit by $15,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016
through 2025.
(11) Committee on transportation and infrastructure.--The
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure shall submit
changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce
the deficit by $100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016
through 2025.
(12) Committee on veterans' affairs.--The Committee on
Veterans' Affairs shall submit changes in laws within its
jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $100,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
(13) Committee on ways and means.--The Committee on Ways
and Means shall submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction
sufficient to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the
period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 202. RECONCILIATION PROCEDURES.
(a) Estimating Assumptions.--
(1) Assumptions.--In the House, for purposes of titles III
and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the chair of
the Committee on the Budget shall use the baseline underlying
the Congressional Budget Office's Budget and Economic Outlook:
2015 to 2025 (January 2015) when making estimates of any bill
or joint resolution, or any amendment thereto or conference
report thereon. If adjustments to the baseline are made
subsequent to the adoption of this concurrent resolution, then
such chair shall determine whether to use any of these
adjustments when making such estimates.
(2) Intent.--The authority set forth in paragraph (1)
should only be exercised if the estimates used to determine the
compliance of such measures with the budgetary requirements
included in the concurrent resolution are inaccurate because
adjustments made to the baseline are inconsistent with the
assumptions underlying the budgetary levels set forth in this
concurrent resolution. Such inaccurate adjustments made after
the adoption of this concurrent resolution may include selected
adjustments for rulemaking, judicial actions, adjudication, and
interpretative rules that have major budgetary effects and are
inconsistent with the assumptions underlying the budgetary
levels set forth in this concurrent resolution.
(3) Congressional budget office estimates.--Upon the
request of the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the
House for any measure, the Congressional Budget Office shall
prepare an estimate based on the baseline determination made by
such chair pursuant to paragraph (1).
(b) Repeal of the President's Health Care Law Through
Reconciliation.--In preparing their submissions under section 201(a) to
the Committee on the Budget, the committees named in section 201(b)
shall--
(1) note the policies described in the report accompanying
this concurrent resolution on the budget that repeal the
Affordable Care Act and the health care-related provisions of
the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; and
(2) determine the most effective methods by which the
health care laws referred to in paragraph (1) shall be repealed
in their entirety.
(c) Revision of Budgetary Levels.--
(1) Submission.--Upon the submission to the Committee on
the Budget of the House of a recommendation that has complied
with its reconciliation instructions solely by virtue of
section 310(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
chair of the Committee on the Budget may file with the House
appropriately revised allocations under section 302(a) of such
Act and revised functional levels and aggregates.
(2) Conference report.--Upon the submission to the House of
a conference report recommending a reconciliation bill or
resolution in which a committee has complied with its
reconciliation instructions solely by virtue of this section,
the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House may file
with the House appropriately revised allocations under section
302(a) of such Act and revised functional levels and
aggregates.
(3) Revision.--Allocations and aggregates revised pursuant
to this subsection shall be considered to be allocations and
aggregates established by the concurrent resolution on the
budget pursuant to section 301 of such Act.
SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FOR RECONCILIATION.
(a) Guidance.--In the House, the chair of the Committee on the
Budget may develop additional guidelines providing further information,
budgetary levels and amounts, and other explanatory material to
supplement the instructions included in this concurrent resolution
pursuant to section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and set
forth in section 201.
(b) Publication.--In the House, the chair of the Committee on the
Budget may cause the material prepared pursuant to subsection (a) to be
printed in the Congressional Record on the appropriate date, but not
later than the date set forth in this title on which committees must
submit their recommendations to the Committee on the Budget in order to
comply with the reconciliation instructions set forth in section 201.
TITLE III--SUBMISSIONS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE
SEC. 301. SUBMISSIONS OF FINDINGS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF WASTE, FRAUD,
AND ABUSE.
(a) Submissions Providing for the Elimination of Waste, Fraud, and
Abuse.--In the House, not later than October 1, 2015, the committees
named in subsection (d) shall submit to the Committee on the Budget
findings that identify changes in law within their jurisdictions that
would achieve the specified level of savings through the elimination of
waste, fraud, and abuse.
(b) Recommendations Submitted.--After receiving those
recommendations --
(1) the Committee on the Budget may use them in the
development of future concurrent resolutions on the budget; and
(2) the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House
shall make such recommendations publicly available in
electronic form and cause them to be placed in the
Congressional Record not later than 30 days after receipt.
(c) Specified Levels of Savings.--For purposes of this section, a
specified level of savings for each committee may be inserted in the
Congressional Record by the chair of the Committee on the Budget.
(d) House Committees.--The following committees shall submit
findings to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives
pursuant to subsection (a): the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee
on Armed Services, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on Financial Services,
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security,
the Committee on House Administration, the Committee on the Judiciary,
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on
Natural Resources, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the
Committee on Small Business, the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee
on Ways and Means.
(e) Report by the Government Accountability Office.--By August 1,
2015, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on the
Budget of the House of Representatives a comprehensive report
identifying instances in which the committees referred to in subsection
(d) may make legislative changes to improve the economy, efficiency,
and effectiveness of programs within their jurisdiction.
TITLE IV--BUDGET ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 401. COST ESTIMATES FOR MAJOR LEGISLATION TO INCORPORATE
MACROECONOMIC EFFECTS.
(a) CBO Estimates.--For purposes of the enforcement of this
concurrent resolution, upon its adoption until the end of fiscal year
2016, an estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office under
section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for any major
legislation considered in the House or the Senate during fiscal year
2016 shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate the budgetary
effects of changes in economic output, employment, capital stock, and
other macroeconomic variables resulting from such legislation.
(b) Joint Committee on Taxation Estimates.--For purposes of the
enforcement of this concurrent resolution, any estimate provided by the
Joint Committee on Taxation to the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 201(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for
any major legislation shall, to the extent practicable, incorporate the
budgetary effects of changes in economic output, employment, capital
stock, and other macroeconomic variables resulting from such
legislation.
(c) Contents.--Any estimate referred to in this section shall, to
the extent practicable, include--
(1) a qualitative assessment of the budgetary effects
(including macroeconomic variables described in subsections (a)
and (b)) of such legislation in the 20-fiscal year period
beginning after the last fiscal year of this concurrent
resolution sets forth budgetary levels required by section 301
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; and
(2) an identification of the critical assumptions and the
source of data underlying that estimate.
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section--
(1) the term ``major legislation'' means any bill or joint
resolution--
(A) for which an estimate is required to be
prepared pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 and that causes a gross budgetary
effect (before incorporating macroeconomic effects) in
any fiscal year over the years of the most recently
agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget equal to
or greater than 0.25 percent of the current projected
gross domestic product of the United States for that
fiscal year; or
(B) designated as such by the chair of the
Committee on the Budget for all direct spending
legislation other than revenue legislation or the
Member who is chair or vice chair, as applicable, of
the Joint Committee on Taxation for revenue
legislation; and
(2) the term ``budgetary effects'' means changes in
revenues, budget authority, outlays, and deficits.
SEC. 402. LIMITATION ON MEASURES AFFECTING SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENCY.
(a) In General.--For purposes of the enforcement of this concurrent
resolution, upon its adoption until the end of fiscal year 2016, it
shall not be in order to consider in the House or the Senate a bill or
joint resolution, or an amendment thereto or conference report thereon,
that reduces the actuarial balance by at least .01 percent of the
present value of future taxable payroll of the Federal Old-Age and
Survivors Insurance Trust Fund established under section 201(a) of the
Social Security Act for the 75-year period utilized in the most recent
annual report of the Board of Trustees provided pursuant to section
201(c)(2) of the Social Security Act.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a measure that
would improve the actuarial balance of the combined balance in the
Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund for the 75-year period utilized in the
most recent annual report of the Board of Trustees provided pursuant to
section 201(c)(2) of the Social Security Act.
SEC. 403. BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 302(a)(1) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, section 13301 of the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1990, and section 4001 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1989, the report accompanying this concurrent
resolution on the budget or the joint explanatory statement
accompanying the conference report on any concurrent resolution on the
budget shall include in its allocation under section 302(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to the Committee on Appropriations
amounts for the discretionary administrative expenses of the Social
Security Administration and the United States Postal Service.
(b) Special Rule.--For purposes of enforcing sections 302(f) and
311 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, estimates of the level of
total new budget authority and total outlays provided by a measure
shall include any discretionary amounts described in subsection (a).
SEC. 404. LIMITATION ON TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY
TO THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND.
For purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, or the rules or
orders of the House of Representatives, a bill or joint resolution, or
an amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that transfers funds
from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund shall
be counted as new budget authority and outlays equal to the amount of
the transfer in the fiscal year the transfer occurs.
SEC. 405. LIMITATION ON ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--In the House, except as provided for in subsection
(b), any bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or conference
report thereon, making a general appropriation or continuing
appropriation may not provide for advance appropriations.
(b) Exceptions.--An advance appropriation may be provided for
programs, projects, activities, or accounts identified in the report to
accompany this concurrent resolution or the joint explanatory statement
of managers to accompany this concurrent resolution under the heading:
(1) General.--``Accounts Identified for Advance
Appropriations''; and
(2) Veterans.--``Veterans Accounts Identified for Advance
Appropriations''.
(c) Limitations.--The aggregate level of advance appropriations
shall not exceed--
(1) General.--$28,852,000,000 in new budget authority for
all programs identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1); and
(2) Veterans.--$63,271,000,000 in new budget authority for
programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs identified
pursuant to subsection (b)(2).
(d) Definition.--The term ``advance appropriation'' means any new
discretionary budget authority provided in a bill or joint resolution,
or any amendment thereto or conference report thereon, making general
appropriations or continuing appropriations, for the fiscal year
following fiscal year 2016.
SEC. 406. FAIR VALUE CREDIT ESTIMATES.
(a) Fair Value Estimates.--Upon the request of the chair or ranking
member of the Committee on the Budget, any estimate of the budgetary
effects of a measure prepared by the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office under the terms of title V of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, ``credit reform'' shall, as a supplement to such estimate,
and to the extent practicable, also provide an estimate of the current
actual or estimated market values representing the ``fair value'' of
assets and liabilities affected by such measure.
(b) Fair Value Estimates for Housing and Student Loan Programs.--
Whenever the Director of the Congressional Budget Office prepares an
estimate pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 of the budgetary effects which would be incurred in carrying out
any bill or joint resolution and if the Director determines that such
bill or joint resolution has a budgetary effect related to a housing,
residential mortgage or student loan program under title V of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, then the Director shall also provide
an estimate of the current actual or estimated market values
representing the ``fair value'' of assets and liabilities affected by
the provisions of such bill or joint resolution that result in such
effect.
(c) Enforcement.--If the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office provides an estimate pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), the
chair of the Committee on the Budget may use such estimate to determine
compliance with the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and other
budgetary enforcement controls.
SEC. 407. LIMITATION ON LONG-TERM SPENDING.
(a) In General.--In the House, it shall not be in order to consider
a bill or joint resolution reported by a committee (other than the
Committee on Appropriations), or an amendment thereto or a conference
report thereon, if the provisions of such measure have the net effect
of increasing direct spending in excess of $5,000,000,000 for any
period described in subsection (b).
(b) Time Periods.--The applicable periods for purposes of this
section are any of the four consecutive ten fiscal-year periods
beginning in the fiscal year following the last fiscal year of this
concurrent resolution.
SEC. 408. ALLOCATION FOR OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS/GLOBAL WAR ON
TERRORISM.
(a) Separate OCO/GWOT Allocation.--In the House, there shall be a
separate allocation of new budget authority and outlays provided to the
Committee on Appropriations for the purposes of Overseas Contingency
Operations/Global War on Terrorism.
(b) Application.--For purposes of enforcing the separate allocation
referred to in subsection (a) under section 302(f) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the ``first fiscal year'' and the ``total of fiscal
years'' shall be deemed to refer to fiscal year 2016. Section 302(c) of
such Act shall not apply to such separate allocation.
(c) Designations.--New budget authority or outlays counting toward
the allocation established by subsection (a) shall be designated
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
(d) Adjustments.--For purposes of subsection (a) for fiscal year
2016, no adjustment shall be made under section 314(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 if any adjustment would be made under
section 251(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 409. ADJUSTMENTS FOR IMPROVED CONTROL OF BUDGETARY RESOURCES.
(a) Adjustments of Discretionary and Direct Spending Levels.--In
the House, if a committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations)
reports a bill or joint resolution, or offers any amendment thereto or
submits a conference report thereon, providing for a decrease in direct
spending (budget authority and outlays flowing therefrom) for any
fiscal year and also provides for an authorization of appropriations
for the same purpose, upon the enactment of such measure, the chair of
the Committee on the Budget may decrease the allocation to such
committee and increase the allocation of discretionary spending (budget
authority and outlays flowing therefrom) to the Committee on
Appropriations for fiscal year 2016 by an amount equal to the new
budget authority (and outlays flowing therefrom) provided for in a bill
or joint resolution making appropriations for the same purpose.
(b) Determinations.--In the House, for the purpose of enforcing
this concurrent resolution, the allocations and aggregate levels of new
budget authority, outlays, direct spending, new entitlement authority,
revenues, deficits, and surpluses for fiscal year 2016 and the period
of fiscal years 2016 through fiscal year 2025 shall be determined on
the basis of estimates made by the chair of the Committee on the Budget
and such chair may adjust applicable levels of this concurrent
resolution.
SEC. 410. CONCEPTS, AGGREGATES, ALLOCATIONS AND APPLICATION.
(a) Concepts, Allocations, and Application.--In the House--
(1) upon a change in budgetary concepts or definitions, the
chair of the Committee on the Budget may adjust any
allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution accordingly;
(2) any adjustments of the allocations, aggregates, and
other budgetary levels made pursuant to this concurrent
resolution shall--
(A) apply while that measure is under
consideration;
(B) take effect upon the enactment of that measure;
and
(C) be published in the Congressional Record as
soon as practicable;
(3) section 202 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress) shall
have no force or effect for any reconciliation bill reported
pursuant to instructions set forth in this concurrent
resolution;
(4) the chair of the Committee on the Budget may adjust the
allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate budgetary levels
to reflect changes resulting from the most recently published
or adjusted baseline of the Congressional Budget Office; and
(5) the term ``budget year'' means the most recent fiscal
year for which a concurrent resolution on the budget has been
adopted.
(b) Aggregates, Allocations and Application.--In the House, for
purposes of this concurrent resolution and budget enforcement--
(1) the consideration of any bill or joint resolution, or
amendment thereto or conference report thereon, for which the
chair of the Committee on the Budget makes adjustments or
revisions in the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary
levels of this concurrent resolution shall not be subject to
the points of order set forth in clause 10 of rule XXI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives or section 407 of this
concurrent resolution; and
(2) revised allocations and aggregates resulting from these
adjustments shall be considered for the purposes of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as allocations and aggregates
included in this concurrent resolution.
SEC. 411. RULEMAKING POWERS.
The House adopts the provisions of this title--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of
Representatives and as such they shall be considered as part of
the rules of the House of Representatives, and these rules
shall supersede other rules only to the extent that they are
inconsistent with other such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
the House of Representatives to change those rules at any time,
in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of
any other rule of the House of Representatives.
TITLE V--RESERVE FUNDS
SEC. 501. RESERVE FUND FOR THE REPEAL OF THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH CARE
LAW.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for the budgetary effects of any bill or joint
resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that
consists solely of the full repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the
health care-related provisions of the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 or measures that make modifications to such
law.
SEC. 502. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR PROMOTING REAL HEALTH CARE
REFORM.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for the budgetary effects of any bill or joint
resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that
promotes real health care reform, if such measure would not increase
the deficit for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 503. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATED TO THE MEDICARE
PROVISIONS OF THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH CARE LAW.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for the budgetary effects of any bill or joint
resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that
repeals all or part of the decreases in Medicare spending included in
the Affordable Care Act or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation
Act of 2010, if such measure would not increase the deficit for the
period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 504. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR THE STATE CHILDREN'S HEALTH
INSURANCE PROGRAM.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure extends the State
Children's Health Insurance Program, but only if such measure would not
increase the deficit over the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 505. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure reforms, expands
access to, and improves, as determined by such chair, graduate medical
education programs, but only if such measure would not increase the
deficit over the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 506. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR TRADE AGREEMENTS.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for the budgetary effects of any bill or joint
resolution reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, that implements a trade
agreement, but only if such measure would not increase the deficit for
the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 507. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REFORMING THE TAX CODE.
In the House, if the Committee on Ways and Means reports a bill or
joint resolution that reforms the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the
chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise the allocations,
aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this concurrent resolution
for the budgetary effects of any such bill or joint resolution, or
amendment thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure would
not increase the deficit for the period of fiscal years 2016 through
2025.
SEC. 508. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR REVENUE MEASURES.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for the budgetary effects of any bill or joint
resolution reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, that decreases revenue, but only
if such measure would not increase the deficit for the period of fiscal
years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 509. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO REDUCE POVERTY AND INCREASE
OPPORTUNITY AND UPWARD MOBILITY.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure reforms policies
and programs to reduce poverty and increase opportunity and upward
mobility, but only if such measure would neither adversely impact job
creation nor increase the deficit over the period of fiscal years 2016
through 2025.
SEC. 510. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR TRANSPORTATION.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure maintains the
solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, but only if such measure would not
increase the deficit over the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 511. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR FEDERAL RETIREMENT REFORM.
In the House, the chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise
the allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this
concurrent resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment
thereto or conference report thereon, if such measure reforms, improves
and updates the Federal retirement system, as determined by such chair,
but only if such measure would not increase the deficit over the period
of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 512. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR DEFENSE SEQUESTER
REPLACEMENT.
The chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this concurrent
resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or
conference report thereon, if such measure supports the following
activities: Department of Defense training and maintenance associated
with combat readiness, modernization of equipment, auditability of
financial statements, or military compensation and benefit reforms, by
the amount provided for these purposes, but only if such measure would
not increase the deficit (without counting any net revenue increases in
that measure) over the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
SEC. 513. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND FOR OVERSEAS CONTINGENCY
OPERATIONS/GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM.
The chair of the Committee on the Budget may revise the
allocations, aggregates, and other budgetary levels in this concurrent
resolution for any bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or
conference report thereon, if such measure is related to the support of
Overseas Contingency Operations/Global War on Terrorism by the amounts
provided in such legislation in excess of $73.5 billion but not to
exceed $94 billion, but only if such measure would not increase the
deficit (without counting any net revenue increases in that measure)
over the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.
TITLE VI--ESTIMATES OF DIRECT SPENDING
SEC. 601. DIRECT SPENDING.
(a) Means-Tested Direct Spending.--
(1) For means-tested direct spending, the average rate of
growth in the total level of outlays during the 10-year period
preceding fiscal year 2016 is 6.8 percent.
(2) For means-tested direct spending, the estimated average
rate of growth in the total level of outlays during the 10-year
period beginning with fiscal year 2016 is 4.6 percent under
current law.
(3) The following reforms are proposed in this concurrent
resolution for means-tested direct spending:
(A) In 1996, a Republican Congress and a Democratic
president reformed welfare by limiting the duration of
benefits, giving States more control over the program,
and helping recipients find work. In the five years
following passage, child-poverty rates fell, welfare
caseloads fell, and workers' wages increased. This
budget applies the lessons of welfare reform to both
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and
Medicaid.
(B) For Medicaid, this budget assumes the
conversion of the Federal share of Medicaid spending
into flexible State allotments, which States will be
able to tailor to meet their unique needs. Such a
reform would end the misguided one-size-fits-all
approach that ties the hands of State governments and
would provide States with the freedom and flexibility
they have long requested in the Medicaid program.
Moreover, this budget assumes the repeal of the
Medicaid expansions in the President's health care law,
relieving State governments of the crippling one-size-
fits-all enrollment mandates, as well as the
overwhelming pressure the law's Medicaid expansion puts
on an already-strained system.
(C) For the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, this budget assumes the conversion of the
program into a flexible State allotment tailored to
meet each State's needs. The allotment would increase
based on the Department of Agriculture Thrifty Food
Plan index and beneficiary growth. Such a reform would
provide incentives for States to ensure dollars will go
towards those who need them most.
(b) Nonmeans-Tested Direct Spending.--
(1) For nonmeans-tested direct spending, the average rate
of growth in the total level of outlays during the 10-year
period preceding fiscal year 2016 is 5.4 percent.
(2) For nonmeans-tested direct spending, the estimated
average rate of growth in the total level of outlays during the
10-year period beginning with fiscal year 2016 is 5.5 percent
under current law.
(3) The following reforms are proposed in this concurrent
resolution for nonmeans-tested direct spending:
(A) For Medicare, this budget advances policies to
put seniors, not the Federal Government, in control of
their health care decisions. Future retirees would be
able to choose from a range of guaranteed coverage
options, with private plans competing alongside the
traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. Medicare
would provide a premium-support payment either to pay
for or offset the premium of the plan chosen by the
senior, depending on the plan's cost. The Medicare
premium-support payment would be adjusted so that the
sick would receive higher payments if their conditions
worsened; lower-income seniors would receive additional
assistance to help cover out-of-pocket costs; and
wealthier seniors would assume responsibility for a
greater share of their premiums. Putting seniors in
charge of how their health care dollars are spent will
force providers to compete against each other on price
and quality. This market competition will act as a real
check on widespread waste and skyrocketing health care
costs. As with previous budgets, this program will
begin in 2024 and makes no changes to those in or near
retirement.
(B) In keeping with a recommendation from the
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and
Reform, this budget calls for Federal employees--
including Members of Congress and congressional staff--
to make greater contributions toward their own
retirement.
TITLE VII--RECOMMENDED LONG-TERM LEVELS
SEC. 701. LONG-TERM BUDGETING.
The following are the recommended revenue, spending, and deficit
levels for each of fiscal years 2030, 2035, and 2040 as a percent of
the gross domestic product of the United States:
(1) Revenues.--The budgetary levels of Federal revenues are
as follows:
Fiscal year 2030: 18.7 percent.
Fiscal year 2035: 19.0 percent.
Fiscal year 2040: 19.0 percent.
(2) Outlays.--The budgetary levels of total budget outlays
are not to exceed:
Fiscal year 2030: 18.4 percent.
Fiscal year 2035: 17.8 percent.
Fiscal year 2040: 16.9 percent.
(3) Deficits.--The budgetary levels of deficits are not to
exceed:
Fiscal year 2030: -0.3 percent.
Fiscal year 2035: -1.2 percent.
Fiscal year 2040: -2.1 percent.
(4) Debt.--The budgetary levels of debt held by the public
are not to exceed:
Fiscal year 2030: 44.0 percent.
Fiscal year 2035: 32.0 percent.
Fiscal year 2040: 18.0 percent.
TITLE VIII--POLICY STATEMENTS
SEC. 801. POLICY STATEMENT ON BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) The Federal Government collects approximately $3
trillion annually in taxes, but spends more than $3.5 trillion
to maintain the operations of government. The Federal
Government must borrow 14 cents of every Federal dollar spent.
(2) At the end of the year 2014, the national debt of the
United States was more than $18.1 trillion.
(3) A majority of States have petitioned the Federal
Government to hold a Constitutional Convention for the
consideration of adopting a Balanced Budget Amendment to the
United States Constitution.
(4) Forty-nine States have fiscal limitations in their
State Constitutions, including the requirement to annually
balance the budget.
(5) H.J. Res. 2, sponsored by Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (R-
VA), was considered by the House of Representatives on November
18, 2011, though it received 262 aye votes, it did not receive
the two-thirds required for passage.
(6) Numerous balanced budget amendment proposals have been
introduced on a bipartisan basis in the House. Twelve were
introduced in the 113th Congress alone, including H.J. Res. 4
by Democratic Representative John J. Barrow of Georgia, and
H.J. Res. 38 by Republican Representative Jackie Walorski of
Indiana.
(7) The joint resolution providing for a balanced budget
amendment to the U.S. Constitution referred to in paragraph (5)
prohibited outlays for a fiscal year (except those for
repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for
that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless
Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber,
authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts.
(8) In 1995, a balanced budget amendment to the U.S.
Constitution passed the House with bipartisan support, but
failed of passage by one vote in the United States Senate.
(b) Policy Statement.--It is the policy of this resolution that
Congress should pass a joint resolution incorporating the provisions
set forth in subsection (b), and send such joint resolution to the
States for their approval, to amend the Constitution of the United
States to require an annual balanced budget.
SEC. 802. POLICY STATEMENT ON BUDGET PROCESS AND BASELINE REFORM.
(a) Findings.--
(1) In 1974, after more than 50 years of executive
dominance over fiscal policy, Congress acted to reassert its
``power of the purse'', and passed the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act.
(2) The measure explicitly sought to establish
congressional control over the budget process, to provide for
annual congressional determination of the appropriate level of
taxes and spending, to set important national budget
priorities, and to find ways in which Members of Congress could
have access to the most accurate, objective, and highest
quality information to assist them in discharging their duties.
(3) Far from achieving its intended purpose, however, the
process has instituted a bias toward higher spending and larger
government. The behemoth of the Federal Government has largely
been financed through either borrowing or taking ever greater
amounts of the national income through high taxation.
(4) The process does not treat programs and policies
consistently and shows a bias toward higher spending and higher
taxes.
(5) It assumes extension of spending programs (of more than
$50 million per year) scheduled to expire.
(6) Yet it does not assume the extension of tax policies in
the same way. consequently, extending existing tax policies
that may be scheduled to expire is characterized as a new tax
reduction, requiring offsets to ``pay for'' merely keeping tax
policy the same even though estimating conventions would not
require similar treatment of spending programs.
(7) The original goals set for the congressional process
are admirable in their intent, but because the essential
mechanisms of the process have remained the same, and
``reforms'' enacted over the past 40 years have largely taken
the form of layering greater levels of legal complexity without
reforming or reassessing the very fundamental nature of the
process.
(b) Policy Statement.--It is the policy of this concurrent
resolution on the budget that as the primary branch of Government,
Congress must:
(1) Restructure the fundamental procedures of budget
decision making;
(2) Reassert Congress's ``power of the purse'', and
reinforce the balance of powers between Congress and the
President, as the 1974 Act intended.
(3) Create greater incentives for lawmakers to do budgeting
as intended by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, especially
adopting a budget resolution every year.
(4) Encourage more effective control over spending,
especially currently uncontrolled direct spending.
(5) Consider innovative fiscal tools such as: zero based
budgeting, which would require a department or agency to
justify its budget as if it were a new expenditure; and direct
spending caps to enhance oversight of automatic pilot spending
that increases each year without congressional approval.
(6) Promote efficient and timely budget actions, so that
lawmakers complete their budget actions by the time the new
fiscal year begins.
(7) Provide access to the best analysis of economic
conditions available and increase awareness of how fiscal
policy directly impacts overall economic growth and job
creation,
(9) Remove layers of complexity that have complicated the
procedures designed in 1974, and made budgeting more arcane and
opaque.
(10) Remove existing biases that favor higher spending.
(11) Include procedures by which current tax laws may be
extended and treated on a basis that is not different from the
extension of entitlement programs.
(c) Budget Process Reform.--Comprehensive budget process reform
should also remove the bias in the baseline against the extension of
current tax laws in the following ways:
(1) Permanent extension of tax laws should not be used as a
means to increase taxes on other taxpayers;
(2) For those expiring tax provisions that are proposed to
be permanently extended, Congress should use a more realistic
baseline that does not require 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 congressional budget process more effective in
ensuring taxpayers' 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 technically 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 percent
historical trend rate of growth in the United States. Although
the economy has shown some welcome signs of improvement of
late, the Nation remains 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 simply unacceptable and insufficient to
expand opportunities and the incomes of millions of middle-
income Americans.
(3) Sluggish economic growth has also contributed 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
higher 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 instance, is hovering just under 63
percent, close to the lowest level since 1978. Long-term
unemployment also remains a problem. Of the roughly 8.7 million
people who are currently unemployed, 2.7 million (more than 30
percent) have been unemployed for more than 6 months. Long-term
unemployment erodes an individual's job skills and detaches
them from job opportunities. It also undermines the long-term
productive capacity of the economy.
(5) Perhaps most important, wage gains and income 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. investors and businesses
make decisions on a forward-looking basis. they know that
today's large 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.
(7) Nearly all economists, including those at the CBO,
conclude that reducing budget deficits (thereby bending the
curve on debt levels is a net positive for economic growth over
time. The logic is that deficit 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 increase real output per
capita (a proxy for a country'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 prosperity
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 economic 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 divide up and re-
distribute a shrinking pie.
(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 opportunities and more job
creation.
(b) Policy on Economic Growth and Job Creation.--It is the policy
of this resolution to promote faster economic growth and job creation.
By putting the budget 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 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 distorts 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
disproportionately 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.
(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 corporations, 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 lowering marginal rates on these pass-through
entities.
(8) The U.S. corporate income tax rate (including Federal,
State, and local taxes) sums to slightly more than 39 percent,
the highest rate in the industrialized world. Tax rates this
high suppress wages and discourage investment and job creation,
distort 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 creation. The U.S. tax
rate differential with other countries also fosters a variety
of complicated multinational 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. international
taxation essentially taxes earnings of United States firms
twice, putting them at a significant 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 operating abroad and
it would also greatly reduce tax avoidance.
(12) The tax code imposes costs on American workers through
lower wages, on consumers in higher prices, and on investors in
diminished returns.
(13) Revenues have averaged about 17.4 percent of the
economy throughout modern American 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 instituting 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 increased investment, which, over
time, would have a positive impact on total national output.
(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) remains fixed throughout the considered
budget horizon. This is an abstraction from reality.
(21) A new House rule was adopted at the beginning of the
114th Congress to help correct this problem. This rule requires
CBO and JCT to incorporate the macroeconomic effects of major
legislation into their official cost estimates.
(22) This rule seeks to bridge the divide between static
estimates and scoring that incorporates economic feedback
effects by providing policymakers with a greater amount of
information about the likely economic impact of policies under
their consideration 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 provides for a comprehensive
reform of the United States tax code to promote economic growth, create
American jobs, increase wages, and benefit American consumers,
investors, 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 competitive 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 exports is vital to
the United States economy and beneficial to American workers
and consumers. The Commerce Department estimates that every $1
billion 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 through the expansion of
trade, adherence to trade agreement rules by the United States
and its trading partners, and the elimination of foreign trade
barriers to United States goods and services.
(3) Trade Promotion Authority is a bipartisan and bicameral
effort to strengthen the role of Congress in setting
negotiating objectives for trade agreements, to improve
consultation with Congress by the Administration, and to
provide a clear framework for congressional consideration and
implementation 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 operations abroad it often
leads to more jobs and economic 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 also lower the cost of manufacturing
inputs by removing 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 global IP frameworks. Strong IP
protections have contributed 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 standards
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 investment and jobs.
(9) The United States currently has an antiquated system of
international taxation whereby United States multinationals
operating abroad pay both the foreign-country tax and United
States corporate 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 foreign 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 disadvantage to a certain extent.
Eliminating or restricting this provision (and others like it)
would harm United States competitiveness.
(11) This budget resolution advocates fundamental tax
reform that would lower the United States corporate rate, now
the highest in the industrialized 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 to keep their profits overseas
(because the United States corporate rate is so high).
(b) Policy on Trade.--It is the policy of this concurrent
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 opportunities, adherence to
trade agreements and rules by the United States and its trading
partners, and the elimination 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 Congress in setting negotiating
objectives for trade agreements, to improve consultation with Congress
by the Administration, and to provide a clear framework for
congressional 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 Security. Since
enactment, Social Security has served as a vital leg on the
``three-legged stool'' of retirement security, which includes
employer provided pensions as well as personal savings.
(2) The Social Security Trustees Report has repeatedly
recommended that Social Security's long-term financial
challenges be addressed soon. Each year without reform, the
financial condition of Social Security becomes more precarious
and the threat to seniors and those receiving Social Security
disability benefits becomes more pronounced:
(A) In 2016, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund
will be exhausted and program revenues will be unable
to pay scheduled benefits.
(B) In 2033, the combined Old-Age and Survivors and
Disability Trust Funds will be exhausted, and program
revenues will be unable to pay scheduled benefits.
(C) With the exhaustion of the Trust Funds in 2033,
benefits will be cut nearly 23 percent across the
board, devastating those currently in or near
retirement and those who rely on Social Security the
most.
(3) The recession and continued low economic growth have
exacerbated the looming fiscal crisis facing Social Security.
The most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections
find that Social Security will run cash deficits of more than
$2 trillion over the next 10 years.
(4) Lower income Americans rely on Social Security for a
larger proportion of their retirement income. Therefore,
reforms should take into consideration the need to protect
lower income Americans' retirement security.
(5) The Disability Insurance program provides an essential
income safety net for those with disabilities and their
families. According to the CBO, between 1970 and 2012, the
number of people receiving disability benefits (both disabled
workers and their dependent family members) has increased by
more than 300 percent from 2.7 million to over 10.9 million.
This increase is not due strictly to population growth or
decreases in health. David Autor and Mark Duggan have found
that the increase in individuals on disability does not reflect
a decrease in self-reported health. CBO attributes program
growth to changes in demographics, changes in the composition
of the labor force and compensation, as well as Federal
policies.
(6) If this program is not reformed, families who rely on
the lifeline that disability benefits provide will face benefit
cuts of up to 20 percent in 2016, devastating individuals who
need assistance the most.
(7) In the past, Social Security has been reformed on a
bipartisan basis, most notably by the ``Greenspan Commission''
which helped to address Social Security shortfalls for more
than a generation.
(8) Americans deserve action by the President, the House,
and the Senate to preserve and strengthen Social Security. It
is critical that bipartisan action be taken to address the
looming insolvency of Social Security. In this spirit, this
resolution creates a bipartisan opportunity to find solutions
by requiring policymakers to ensure that Social Security
remains a critical part of the safety net.
(b) Policy on Social Security.--It is the policy of this resolution
that Congress should work on a bipartisan basis to make Social Security
sustainably solvent. This resolution assumes reform of a current law
trigger, such that:
(1) If in any year the Board of Trustees of the Federal
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund annual Trustees Report
determines that the 75-year actuarial balance of the Social
Security Trust Funds is in deficit, and the annual balance of
the Social Security Trust Funds in the 75th year is in deficit,
the Board of Trustees should, no later than September 30 of the
same calendar year, submit to the President recommendations for
statutory reforms necessary to achieve a positive 75-year
actuarial balance and a positive annual balance in the 75th-
year. Recommendations provided to the President must be agreed
upon by both Public Trustees of the Board of Trustees.
(2) Not later than 1 December of the same calendar year in
which the Board of Trustees submit their recommendations, the
President should promptly submit implementing legislation to
both Houses of Congress including his recommendations necessary
to achieve a positive 75-year actuarial balance and a positive
annual balance in the 75th year. The Majority Leader of the
Senate and the Majority Leader of the House should introduce
the President's legislation upon receipt.
(3) Within 60 days of the President submitting legislation,
the committees of jurisdiction to which the legislation has
been referred should report a bill, which should be considered
by the full House or Senate under expedited procedures.
(4) Legislation submitted by the President should--
(A) protect those in or near retirement;
(B) preserve the safety net for those who count on
Social Security the most, including those with
disabilities and survivors;
(C) improve fairness for participants;
(D) reduce the burden on, and provide certainty
for, future generations; and
(E) secure the future of the Disability Insurance
program while addressing the needs of those with
disabilities today and improving the determination
process.
(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 system.
This resolution assumes reform that--
(1) ensure benefits continue to be paid to individuals with
disabilities and their family members who rely on them;
(2) prevents a 20 percent across-the-board benefit cut;
(3) makes the Disability Insurance program work better; and
(4) promotes opportunity for those trying to return to
work.
(d) Policy on Social Security Solvency.--Any legislation that
Congress considers to improve the solvency of the Disability Insurance
trust fund also must improve the long-term solvency of the combined Old
Age and Survivors Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust fund.
SEC. 807. POLICY STATEMENT ON REPEALING THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH CARE LAW
AND PROMOTING REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) The President's health care law put Washington's
priorities first, and not patients'. The Affordable Care Act
(ACA) has failed to reduce health care premiums as promised;
instead, the law mandated benefits and coverage levels, denying
patients the opportunity to choose the type of coverage that
best suits their health needs and driving up health coverage
costs. A typical family's health care premiums were supposed to
decline by $2,500 a year; instead, according to the 2014
Employer Health Benefits Survey, health care premiums have
increased by 7 percent for individuals and families since 2012.
(2) The President pledged ``If you like your health care
plan, you can keep your health care plan.'' Instead, the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates 9 million
Americans with employment-based health coverage will lose those
plans due to the President's health care law, further limiting
patient choice.
(3) Then-Speaker of the House, Pelosi, said that the
President's health care law would create 4 million jobs over
the life of the law and almost 400,000 jobs immediately.
Instead, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the
reduction in hours worked due to Obamacare represents a decline
of about 2.0 to 2.5 million full-time equivalent workers,
compared with what would have occurred in the absence of the
law. The full impact on labor represents a reduction in
employment by 1.5 percent to 2.0 percent, while additional
studies show less modest results. A recent study by the
Mercatus Center at George Mason University estimates that
Obamacare will reduce employment by up to 3 percent, or about 4
million full-time equivalent workers.
(4) The President has charged the Independent Payment
Advisory Board, a panel of unelected bureaucrats, with cutting
Medicare by an additional $20.9 billion over the next ten
years, according to the President's most recent budget.
(5) Since ACA was signed into law, the administration has
repeatedly failed to implement it as written. The President has
unilaterally acted to make a total of 28 changes, delays, and
exemptions. The President has signed into law another 17
changes made by Congress. The Supreme Court struck down the
forced expansion of Medicaid; ruled the individual ``mandate''
could only be characterized as a tax to remain constitutional;
and rejected the requirement that closely held companies
provide health insurance to their employees if doing so
violates these companies' religious beliefs. Even now, almost
five years after enactment, the Supreme Court continues to
evaluate the legality of how the President's administration has
implemented the law. All of these changes prove the folly
underlying the entire program health care in the United States
cannot be run from a centralized bureaucracy.
(6) The President's health care law is unaffordable,
intrusive, overreaching, destructive, and unworkable. The law
should be fully repealed, allowing for real, patient-centered
health care reform: the development of real health care reforms
that puts patients first, that make affordable, quality health
care available to all Americans, and that build on the
innovation and creativity of all the participants in the health
care sector.
(b) Policy on Promoting Real Health Care Reform.--It is the policy
of this resolution that the President's health care law should be fully
repealed and real health care reform promoted in accordance with the
following principles:
(1) In general.--Health care reform should enhance
affordability, accessibility, quality, innovation, choices and
responsiveness in health care coverage for all Americans,
putting patients, families, and doctors in charge, not
Washington, DC. These reforms should encourage increased
competition and transparency. Under the President's health care
law, government controls Americans' health care choices. Under
true, patient-centered reform, Americans would.
(2) Affordability.--Real reform should be centered on
ensuring that all Americans, no matter their age, income, or
health status, have the ability to afford health care coverage.
The health care delivery structure should be improved, and
individuals should not be priced out of the health insurance
market due to pre-existing conditions, but nationalized health
care is not only unnecessary to accomplish this, it undermines
the goal. Individuals should be allowed to join together
voluntarily to pool risk through mechanisms such as Individual
Membership Associations and Small Employer Membership
Associations.
(3) Accessability.--Instead of Washington outlining for
Americans the ways they cannot use their health insurance,
reforms should make health coverage more portable. Individuals
should be able to own their insurance and have it follow them
in and out of jobs throughout their career. Small business
owners should be permitted to band together across State lines
through their membership in bona fide trade or professional
associations to purchase health coverage for their families and
employees at a low cost. This will increase small businesses'
bargaining power, volume discounts, and administrative
efficiencies while giving them freedom from State-mandated
benefit packages. Also, insurers licensed to sell policies in
one State should be permitted to offer them to residents in any
other State, and consumers should be permitted to shop for
health insurance across State lines, as they are with other
insurance products online, by mail, by phone, or in
consultation with an insurance agent.
(4) Quality.--Incentives for providers to deliver high-
quality, responsive, and coordinated care will promote patient
outcomes and drive down health care costs. likewise, reforms
that work to restore the patient-physician relationship by
reducing administrative burdens and allowing physicians to do
what they do best: care for patients
(5) Choices.--Individuals and families should be free to
secure the health care coverage that best meets their needs,
rather than instituting one-size-fits-all directives from
Federal bureaucracies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Independent
Payment Advisory Board.
(6) Innovation.--Instead of stifling innovation in health
care technologies, treatments, medications, and therapies with
Federal mandates, taxes, and price controls, a reformed health
care system should encourage research, development and
innovation.
(7) Responsiveness.--Reform should return authority to
States wherever possible to make the system more responsive to
patients and their needs. Instead of tying States' hands with
Federal requirements for their Medicaid programs, the Federal
Government should return control of this program to the States.
Not only does the current Medicaid program drive up Federal
debt and threaten to bankrupt State budgets, but States are
better positioned to provide quality, affordable care to those
who are eligible for the program and to track down and weed out
waste, fraud and abuse. Beneficiary choices in the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid should
be improved. States should make available the purchase of
private insurance as an option to their Medicaid and SCHIP
populations (though they should not require enrollment).
(8) Reforms.--Reforms should be made to prevent lawsuit
abuse and curb the practice of defensive medicine, which are
significant drivers increasing health care costs. The burden of
proof in medical malpractice cases should be based on
compliance with best practice guidelines, and States should be
free to implement those policies to best suit their needs.
SEC. 808. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICARE.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) More than 50 million Americans depend on Medicare for
their health security.
(2) The Medicare Trustees Report has repeatedly recommended
that Medicare's long-term financial challenges be addressed
soon. Each year without reform, the financial condition of
Medicare becomes more precarious and the threat to those in or
near retirement becomes more pronounced. According to the
Medicare Trustees Report--
(A) the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be
exhausted in 2030 and unable to pay scheduled benefits;
(B) Medicare enrollment is expected to increase by
over 50 percent in the next two decades, as 10,000 baby
boomers reach retirement age each day;
(C) enrollees remain in Medicare three times longer
than at the outset of the program;
(D) current workers' payroll contributions pay for
current beneficiaries;
(E) in 2013, the ratio was 3.2 workers per
beneficiary, but this falls to 2.3 in 2030 and
continues to decrease over time;
(F) most Medicare beneficiaries receive about three
dollars in Medicare benefits for every one dollar paid
into the program; and
(G) Medicare spending is growing faster than the
economy and Medicare outlays are currently rising at a
rate of 6.5 percent per year over the next 10 years.
According to the Congressional Budget Office's 2014
Long-Term Budget Outlook, spending on Medicare is
projected to reach 5 percent of gross domestic product
(GDP) by 2043 and 9.3 percent of GDP by 2089.
(3) Failing to address this problem will leave millions of
American seniors without adequate health security and younger
generations burdened with enormous debt to pay for spending
levels that cannot be sustained.
(b) Policy on Medicare Reform.--It is the policy of this resolution
to preserve the program for those in or near retirement and strengthen
Medicare for future beneficiaries.
(c) Assumptions.--This resolution assumes reform of the Medicare
program such that--
(1) current Medicare benefits are preserved for those in or
near retirement;
(2) permanent reform of the sustainable growth rate is
responsibly accounted for to ensure physicians continue to
participate in the Medicare program and provide quality health
care for beneficiaries;
(3) when future generations reach eligibility, Medicare is
reformed to provide a premium support payment and a selection
of guaranteed health coverage options from which recipients can
choose a plan that best suits their needs;
(4) Medicare will maintain traditional fee-for-service as a
plan option;
(5) Medicare will provide additional assistance for lower
income beneficiaries and those with greater health risks; and
(6) Medicare spending is put on a sustainable path and the
Medicare program becomes solvent over the long-term.
SEC. 809. POLICY STATEMENT ON MEDICAL DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT, DELIVERY
AND INNOVATION.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) For decades, the Nation's commitment to the discovery,
development, and delivery of new treatments and cures has made
the United States the biomedical innovation capital of the
world, bringing life-saving drugs and devices to patients and
well over a million high-paying jobs to local communities.
(2) Thanks to the visionary and determined leadership of
innovators throughout America, including industry, academic
medical centers, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the United States has led the way in early discovery. The
United States leadership role is being threatened, however, as
other countries contribute more to basic research from both
public and private sources.
(3) The Organisation for Economic Development and
Cooperation predicts that China, for example, will outspend the
United States in total research and development by the end of
the decade.
(4) Federal policies should foster innovation in health
care, not stifle it. America should maintain its world
leadership in medical science by encouraging competitive forces
to work through the marketplace in delivering cures and
therapies to patients.
(5) Too often the bureaucracy and red-tape in Washington
hold back medical innovation and prevent new lifesaving
treatments from reaching patients. This resolution recognizes
the valuable role of the NIH and the indispensable
contributions to medical research coming from outside
Washington.
(6) America is the greatest, most innovative Nation on
Earth. Her people are innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries,
and relentless builders of the future. Americans were
responsible for the first telephone, the first airplane, the
first computer, for putting the first man on the moon, for
creating the first vaccine for polio and for legions of other
scientific and medical breakthroughs that have improved and
prolonged human health and life for countless people in America
and around the world.
(b) Policy on Medical Innovation.--
(1) It is the policy of this resolution to support the
important work of medical innovators throughout the country,
including private-sector innovators, medical centers and the
National Institutes of Health.
(2) At the same time, the budget calls for continued strong
funding for the agencies that engage in valuable research and
development, while also urging Washington to get out of the way
of researchers, discoverers and innovators all over the
country.
SEC. 810. POLICY STATEMENT ON FEDERAL REGULATORY REFORM.
(a) Findings.-- The House finds the following:
(1) Excessive regulation at the Federal level has hurt job
creation and dampened the economy, slowing the Nation's
recovery from the economic recession.
(2) Since President Obama's inauguration in 2009, the
administration has issued more than 468,500 pages of
regulations in the Federal Register including 70,066 pages in
2014.
(3) The National Association of Manufacturers estimates the
total cost of regulations is as high as $2.03 trillion per
year. Since 2009, the White House has generated more than $494
billion in regulatory activity, with an additional $87.6
billion in regulatory costs currently pending.
(4) The Dodd-Frank financial services legislation (Public
Law 111-203) has resulted in more than $32 billion in
compliance costs and saddled job creators with more than 63
million hours of compliance paperwork.
(5) Implementation of the Affordable Care Act to date has
added 132.9 million annual hours of compliance paperwork,
imposing $24.3 billion of compliance costs on the private
sector and an $8 billion cost burden on the States.
(6) The highest regulatory costs come from rules issued by
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); these regulations
are primarily targeted at the coal industry. In June 2014, the
EPA proposed a rule to cut carbon pollution from the Nation's
power plants. The proposed standards are unachievable with
current commercially available technology, resulting in a de-
facto ban on new coal-fired power plants.
(7) Coal-fired power plants provide roughly 40 percent of
the United States electricity at a low cost. Unfairly targeting
the coal industry with costly and unachievable regulations will
increase energy prices, disproportionately disadvantaging
energy-intensive industries like manufacturing and
construction, and will make life more difficult for millions of
low-income and middle class families already struggling to pay
their bills.
(8) Three hundred and thirty coal units are being retired
or converted as a result of EPA regulations. Combined with the
de-facto prohibition on new plants, these retirements and
conversions may further increase the cost of electricity.
(9) A recent study by the energy market analysis group
Energy Ventures Analysis Inc. estimates the average energy bill
in West Virginia will rise $750 per household by 2020, due in
part to EPA regulations. West Virginia receives 95 percent of
its electricity from coal.
(10) The Heritage Foundation found that a phase-out of coal
would cost 600,000 jobs by the end of 2023, resulting in an
aggregate gross domestic product decrease of $2.23 trillion
over the entire period and reducing the income of a family of
four by $1,200 per year. Of these jobs, 330,000 will come from
the manufacturing sector, with California, Texas, Ohio,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Indiana, North
Carolina, Wisconsin, and Georgia seeing the highest job losses.
(b) Policy on Federal Regulatory Reform.--It is the policy of this
resolution that Congress should, in consultation with the public
burdened by excessive regulation, enact legislation that--
(1) promotes economic growth and job creation by
eliminating unnecessary red tape and streamlining and
simplifying Federal regulations;
(2) requires the implementation of a regulatory budget to
be allocated amongst Government agencies, which would require
congressional approval and limit the maximum costs of
regulations in a given year;
(3) requires congressional approval of all new major
regulations (those with an impact of $100 million or more)
before enactment as opposed to current law in which Congress
must expressly disapprove of regulation to prevent it from
becoming law, which would keep Congress engaged as to pending
regulatory policy and prevent costly and unsound policies from
being implemented and becoming effective;
(4) requires a three year retrospective cost-benefit
analysis of all new major regulations, to ensure that
regulations operate as intended;
(5) reinforces the requirement of regulatory impact
analysis for regulations proposed by executive branch agencies
but also expands the requirement to independent agencies so
that by law they consider the costs and benefits of proposed
regulations rather than merely being encouraged to do so as is
current practice; and
(6) requires a formal rulemaking process for all major
regulations, which would increase transparency over the process
and allow interested parties to communicate their views on
proposed legislation to agency officials.
SEC. 811. 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 economic, job,
and wage growth.
(2) Roughly 20 million students are enrolled in American
colleges and universities.
(3) Over the past decade, tuition and fees have been
growing at an unsustainable rate. Between the 2004-2005
Academic Year and the 2014-2015 Academic Year--
(A) published tuition and fees at public 4-year
colleges and universities increased at an average rate
of 3.5 percent per year above the rate of inflation;
(B) published tuition and fees at public two-year
colleges and universities increased at an average rate
of 2.5 percent per year above the rate of inflation;
and
(C) published tuition and fees at private nonprofit
4-year colleges and universities increased at an
average rate of 2.2 percent per year above the rate of
inflation.
(4) Federal financial aid for higher education has also
seen a dramatic increase. The portion of the Federal student
aid portfolio composed of Direct Loans, Federal Family
Education Loans, and Perkins Loans with outstanding balances
grew by 119 percent between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year
2014.
(5) This spending has failed to make college more
affordable.
(6) In his 2012 State of the Union Address, President Obama
noted: ``We can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition;
we'll run out of money''.
(7) American students are chasing ever-increasing tuition
with ever-increasing debt. According to the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York, student debt now stands at nearly $1.2
trillion. This makes student loans the second largest balance
of consumer debt, after mortgage debt.
(8) Students are carrying large debt loads and too many
fail to complete college or end up defaulting 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 2017 and continuing in each subsequent
year in the current budget window.
(10) Failing to address these problems will jeopardize
access and affordability to higher education for America's
young people.
(b) Policy on Higher Education Affordability.--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
$5,775 in each year of the budget window; and
(4) removing regulatory barriers in higher education that
act to restrict flexibility and innovative teaching,
particularly as it relates to non-traditional models such as
online coursework and competency-based learning.
(c) Findings on Workforce Development.--The House finds the
following:
(1) 8.7 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 personnel.
(3) The House Education and Workforce Committee
successfully consolidated 15 job training programs in the
recently enacted Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
(d) Policy on Workforce Development.--It is the policy of this
resolution to address the failings in the current workforce development
system, by--
(1) further streamlining and consolidating Federal job
training programs; and
(2) empowering states with the flexibility to tailor
funding and programs to the specific needs of their workforce,
including the development of career scholarships.
SEC. 812. POLICY STATEMENT ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) For years, there has been serious concern regarding the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) bureaucratic mismanagement
and continuous failure to provide veterans timely access to
health care and benefits.
(2) In 2014, reports started breaking across the Nation
that VA medical centers were manipulating wait-list documents
to hide long delays veterans were facing to receive health
care. The VA hospital scandal led to the immediate resignation
of then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
(3) In 2015, for the first time ever, VA health care was
added to the ``high-risk'' list of the Government
Accountability Office (GAO), due to management and oversight
failures that have directly resulted in risks to the
timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and quality of health care.
(4) In response to the scandal, the House Committee on
Veterans' Affairs held several oversight hearings and
ultimately enacted the Veterans' Access, Choice and
Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA) (Public Law 113-146) to
address these problems. VACAA provided $15 billion in emergency
resources to fund internal health care needs within the
department and provided veterans enhanced access to private-
sector health care under the new Veterans Choice Program.
(b) Policy on the Department of Veterans Affairs.--This budget
supports the continued oversight efforts by the House Committee on
Veterans' Affairs to ensure the VA is not only transparent and
accountable, but also successful in achieving its goals in providing
timely health care and benefits to America's veterans. The Budget
Committee will continue to closely monitor the VA's progress to ensure
resources provided by Congress are sufficient and efficiently used to
provide needed benefits and services to veterans.
SEC. 813. POLICY STATEMENT ON FEDERAL ACCOUNTING METHODOLOGIES.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) Given the thousands of Federal programs and trillions
of dollars the Federal Government spends each year, assessing
and accounting for Federal fiscal activities and liabilities is
a complex undertaking.
(2) Current methods of accounting leave much to be desired
in capturing the full scope of government and in presenting
information in a clear and compelling way that illuminates the
best options going forward.
(3) Most fiscal analysis produced by the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO) is conducted over a relatively short time
horizon: 10 or 25 years. While this time frame is useful for
most purposes, it fails to consider the fiscal consequences
over the longer term.
(4) Additionally, current accounting methodology does not
provide an analysis of how the Federal Government's fiscal
situation over the long run affects Americans of various age
cohorts.
(5) Another consideration is how Federal programs should be
accounted for. The ``accrual method'' of accounting records
revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred,
while the ``cash method'' records revenue and expenses when
cash is actually paid or received.
(6) The Federal budget accounts for most programs using
cash accounting. Some programs, however, particularly loan and
loan guarantee programs, are accounted for using accrual
methods.
(7) GAO has indicated that accrual accounting may provide a
more accurate estimation of the Federal Government's
liabilities than cash accounting for some programs specifically
those that provide some form of insurance.
(8) Where accrual accounting is used, it is almost
exclusively calculated by CBO according to the methodology
outlined in the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA). CBO
uses fair value methodology instead of FCRA to measure the cost
of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example.
(9) FCRA methodology, however, understates the risk and
thus the true cost of Federal programs. An alternative is fair
value methodology, which uses discount rates that incorporate
the risk inherent to the type of liability being estimated in
addition to Treasury discount rates of the proper maturity
length.
(10) The Congressional Budget Office has concluded that
``adopting a fair-value approach would provide a more
comprehensive way to measure the costs of Federal credit
programs and would permit more level comparisons between those
costs and the costs of other forms of federal assistance'' than
the current approach under FCRA.
(b) Policy on Federal Accounting Methodologies.--It is the policy
of this resolution that Congress should, in consultation with the
Congressional Budget Office and the public affected by Federal
budgetary choices, adopt Governmentwide reforms of budget and
accounting practices so the American people and their representatives
can more readily understand the fiscal situation of the Government of
the United States and the options best suited to improving it. Such
reforms may include but should not be limited to the following:
(1) Providing additional metrics to enhance our current
analysis by considering our fiscal situation comprehensively,
over an extended time horizon, and as it affects Americans of
various age cohorts.
(2) Expanding the use of accrual accounting where
appropriate.
(3) Accounting for certain Federal credit programs using
fair value accounting as opposed to the current approach under
the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.
SEC. 814. POLICY STATEMENT ON SCOREKEEPING FOR OUTYEAR BUDGETARY
EFFECTS IN APPROPRIATION ACTS.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) Section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
directs the Committee on the Budget to provide an allocation of
budgetary resources to the Committee on Appropriations for the
budget year covered by a concurrent resolution on the budget.
(2) The allocation of budgetary resources provided by the
Committee on the Budget to the Committee on Appropriations
covers a period of one fiscal year only, which is effective for
the budget year.
(3) An appropriation Act, joint resolution, amendment
thereto or conference report thereon may contain changes to
programs that result in direct budgetary effects that occur
beyond the budget year and beyond the period for which the
allocation of budgetary resources provided by the Committee on
the Budget is effective.
(4) The allocation of budgetary resources provided to the
Committee on Appropriations does not currently anticipate or
capture direct outyear budgetary effects to programs.
(5) Budget enforcement could be improved by capturing the
direct outyear budgetary effects caused by appropriation Acts
and using this information to determine the appropriate
allocations of budgetary resources to the Committee on
Appropriations when considering future concurrent resolutions
on the budget.
(b) Policy Statement.--It is the policy of the House of
Representatives to more effectively allocate budgetary resources and
accurately enforce budget targets by agreeing to a procedure by which
the Committee on the Budget should consider the direct outyear
budgetary effects of changes to mandatory programs enacted in
appropriations bills, joint resolutions, amendments thereto or
conference reports thereon when setting the allocation of budgetary
resources for the Committee on Appropriations in a concurrent
resolution on the budget. The relevant committees of jurisdiction are
directed to consult on a procedure during fiscal year 2016 and include
recommendations for implementing such procedure in the fiscal year 2017
concurrent resolution on the budget.
SEC. 815. POLICY STATEMENT ON REDUCING UNNECESSARY, WASTEFUL, AND
UNAUTHORIZED SPENDING.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required
by law to identify examples of waste, duplication, and overlap
in Federal programs, and has so identified dozens of such
examples.
(2) In its report to Congress on Government Efficiency and
Effectiveness, the Comptroller General has stated that
addressing the identified waste, duplication, and overlap in
Federal programs could ``lead to tens of billions of dollars of
additional savings.''
(3) In 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 the GAO issued reports
showing excessive duplication and redundancy in Federal
programs including--
(A) two hundred nine Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics education programs in 13
different Federal agencies at a cost of $3 billion
annually;
(B) two hundred separate Department of Justice
crime prevention and victim services grant programs
with an annual cost of $3.9 billion in 2010;
(C) twenty different Federal entities administer
160 housing programs and other forms of Federal
assistance for housing with a total cost of $170
billion in 2010;
(D) seventeen separate Homeland Security
preparedness grant programs that spent $37 billion
between fiscal year 2011 and 2012;
(E) fourteen grant and loan programs, and three tax
benefits to reduce diesel emissions;
(F) ninety-four different initiatives run by 11
different agencies to encourage ``green building'' in
the private sector; and
(G) twenty-three agencies implemented approximately
670 renewable energy initiatives in fiscal year 2010 at
a cost of nearly $15 billion.
(4) The Federal Government spends more than $80 billion
each year for approximately 1,400 information technology
investments. GAO has identified broad acquisition failures,
waste, and unnecessary duplication in the Government's
information technology infrastructure. experts have estimated
that eliminating these problems could save 25 percent or $20
billion.
(5) GAO has identified strategic sourcing as a potential
source of spending reductions. In 2011 GAO estimated that
saving 10 percent of the total or all Federal procurement could
generate more than $50 billion in savings annually.
(6) Federal agencies reported an estimated $106 billion in
improper payments in fiscal year 2013.
(7) Under clause 2 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, each standing committee must hold at least one
hearing during each 120 day period following its establishment
on waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in Government
programs.
(8) According to the Congressional Budget Office, by fiscal
year 2015, 32 laws will expire, possibly resulting in $693
billion in unauthorized appropriations. Timely reauthorizations
of these laws would ensure assessments of program justification
and effectiveness.
(9) The findings resulting from congressional oversight of
Federal Government programs should result in programmatic
changes in both authorizing statutes and program funding
levels.
(b) Policy on Reducing Unnecessary, Wasteful, and Unauthorized
Spending.--
(1) Each authorizing committee annually should include in
its Views and Estimates letter required under section 301(d) of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 recommendations to the
Committee on the Budget of programs within the jurisdiction of
such committee whose funding should be reduced or eliminated.
(2) Committees of jurisdiction should review all
unauthorized programs funded through annual appropriations to
determine if the programs are operating efficiently and
effectively.
(3) Committees should reauthorize those programs that in
the committees' judgment should continue to receive funding.
(4) For those programs not reauthorized by committees, the
House of Representatives should enforce the limitations on
funding such unauthorized programs in the House rules. If the
strictures of the rules are deemed to be too rapid in
prohibiting spending on unauthorized programs, then milder
measures should be adopted and enforced until a return to the
full prohibition of clause 2(a)(1) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House.
SEC. 816. POLICY STATEMENT ON DEFICIT REDUCTION THROUGH THE
CANCELLATION OF UNOBLIGATED 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 $844 billion in unobligated balances at the close of
fiscal year 2015.
(2) These funds represent direct and discretionary spending
previously made available by Congress that remains available
for expenditure.
(3) In some cases, agencies are granted funding and it
remains available for obligation indefinitely.
(4) The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 requires the Office of Management and Budget to make funds
available to agencies for obligation and prohibits the
Administration from withholding or cancelling unobligated funds
unless approved by an Act of Congress.
(5) Greater congressional oversight is required to review
and identify potential savings from canceling unobligated
balances of funds that are no longer needed.
(b) Policy on Deficit Reduction Through the Cancellation of
Unobligated Balances.--Congressional committees should through their
oversight activities identify and achieve savings through the
cancellation or rescission of unobligated balances that neither
abrogate contractual obligations of the Government nor reduce or
disrupt Federal commitments under programs such as Social Security,
veterans' affairs, national security, and Treasury authority to finance
the national debt.
(c) Deficit Reduction.--Congress, with the assistance of the
Government Accountability Office, the Inspectors General, and other
appropriate agencies should continue to make it a high priority to
review unobligated balances and identify savings for deficit reduction.
SEC. 817. POLICY STATEMENT ON AGENCY FEES AND SPENDING.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) A number of Federal agencies and organizations have
permanent authority to collect fees and other offsetting
collections and to spend these collected funds.
(2) The total amount of offsetting fees and offsetting
collections is estimated by the Office of Management and Budget
to be $525 billion in fiscal year 2016.
(3) Agency budget justifications are, in some cases, not
fully transparent about the amount of program activity funded
through offsetting collections or fees. This lack of
transparency prevents effective and accountable government.
(b) Policy on Agency Fees and Spending.--It is the policy of this
resolution that Congress must reassert its constitutional prerogative
to control spending and conduct oversight. To do so, Congress should
enact legislation requiring programs that are funded through fees,
offsetting receipts, or offsetting collections to be allocated new
budget authority annually. Such allocation may arise from--
(1) legislation originating from the authorizing committee
of jurisdiction for the agency or program; or
(2) fee and account specific allocations included in annual
appropriation Acts.
SEC. 818. POLICY STATEMENT ON RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP OF TAXPAYER
DOLLARS.
(a) Findings.-- The House finds the following:
(1) The budget for the House of Representatives is $188
million less than it was when Republicans became the majority
in 2011.
(2) The House of Representatives has achieved significant
savings by consolidating operations and renegotiating
contracts.
(b) Policy on Responsible Stewardship of Taxpayer Dollars.--It is
the policy of this resolution that:
(1) The House of Representatives must be a model for the
responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources and therefore
must identify any savings that can be achieved through greater
productivity and efficiency gains in the operation and
maintenance of House services and resources like printing,
conferences, utilities, telecommunications, furniture, grounds
maintenance, postage, and rent. This should include a review of
policies and procedures for acquisition of goods and services
to eliminate any unnecessary spending. The Committee on House
Administration should review the policies pertaining to the
services provided to Members and committees of the House, and
should identify ways to reduce any subsidies paid for the
operation of the House gym, barber shop, salon, and the House
dining room.
(2) No taxpayer funds may be used to purchase first class
airfare or to lease corporate jets for Members of Congress.
(3) Retirement benefits for Members of Congress should not
include free, taxpayer-funded health care for life.
SEC. 819. POLICY STATEMENT ON ``NO BUDGET, NO PAY''.
It is the policy of this resolution that Congress should agree to a
concurrent resolution on the budget every year pursuant to section 301
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. If by April 15, a House of
Congress has not agreed to a concurrent resolution on the budget, the
payroll administrator of that House should carry out this policy in the
same manner as the provisions of Public Law 113-3, the No Budget, No
Pay Act of 2013, and should place in an escrow account all compensation
otherwise required to be made for Members of that House of Congress.
Withheld compensation should be released to Members of that House of
Congress the earlier of the day on which that House of Congress agrees
to a concurrent resolution on the budget, pursuant to section 301 of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, or the last day of that Congress.
SEC. 820. POLICY STATEMENT ON NATIONAL SECURITY FUNDING.
(a) Findings.--The House finds the following:
(1) Russian aggression, the growing threats of the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant in the Middle East, North Korean
and Iranian nuclear and missile programs, and continued Chinese
investments in high-end military capabilities and cyber warfare
shape the parameters of an increasingly complex and challenging
security environment.
(2) All four current service chiefs testified that the
National Military Strategy could not be executed at
sequestration levels.
(3) The independent and bipartisan National Defense Panel
conducted risk assessments of force structure changes triggered
by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) and concluded that in
addition to previous cuts to defense dating back to 2009, the
sequestration of defense discretionary spending has ``caused
significant shortfalls in U.S. military readiness and both
present and future capabilities''.
(4) The President's fiscal year 2016 budget irresponsibly
ignores current law and requests a defense budget $38 billion
above the caps for rhetorical gain. By creating an expectation
of spending without a plan to avoid the BCA's guaranteed
sequester upon breaching of its caps, the White House's
proposal compounds the fiscal uncertainty that has affected the
military's ability to adequately plan for future contingencies
and make investments crucial for the Nation's defense.
(5) The President's budget proposes $1.8 trillion in tax
increases, in addition to the $1.7 trillion in tax hikes the
Administration has already imposed. The President's tax
increases would further burden economic growth and is not a
realistic source for offsets to fund defense sequester
replacement.
(b) Policy on Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Funding.--In fiscal
year 2015, the House-passed budget resolution anticipated $566 billion
for national defense in the discretionary base budget for fiscal year
2016. With no necessary statutory change yet provided by Congress, the
BCA statute would require limiting national defense discretionary base
funding to $523 billion in fiscal year 2016. However, in total with $90
billion, the House Budget estimate for Overseas Contingency Operations
funding for the Department of Defense, the fiscal year 2016 budget
provides over $613 billion total for defense spending that is higher
than the President's budget request for the fiscal year. This
concurrent resolution provides $22 billion above the President's Five
Year Defense Plan and $151 billion above the 10-year totals. This would
also be $387 billion above the 10-year total for current levels.
(c) Defense Readiness and Modernization Fund.--(1) The budget
resolution recognizes the need to ensure robust funding for national
defense while maintaining overall fiscal discipline. The budget
resolution prioritizes our national defense and the needs of the
warfighter by providing needed dollars through the creation of the
``Defense Readiness and Modernization Fund''.
(2) The Defense Readiness and Modernization Fund provides the
mechanism for Congress to responsibly allocate in a deficit-neutral way
the resources the military needs to secure the safety and liberty of
United States citizens from threats at home and abroad. The Defense
Readiness and Modernization Fund will provide the chair of the
Committee on the Budget of the House the ability to increase
allocations to support legislation that would provide for the
Department of Defense warfighting capabilities, modernization, a
temporary increase in end strength, training and maintenance associated
with combat readiness, activities to reach full auditability of the
Department of Defense's financial statements, and implementation of
military and compensation reforms.
(d) Sequester Replacement for National Defense.--This concurrent
resolution encourages an immediate reevaluation of Federal Government
priorities to maintain the strength of America's national security
posture. In identifying policies to restructure and stabilize the
Government's major entitlement programs which, along with net interest,
will consume all Federal revenue in less than 20 years. The budget also
charts a course that can ensure the availability of needed national
security resources.
Union Calendar No. 30
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 27
[Report No. 114-47]
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal
year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2017 through 2025.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 20, 2015
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed