[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 707 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 707
To require the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of
Commerce to provide estimates relating to the distribution of aggregate
economic growth across specific percentile groups of income.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2019
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Adams,
Mr. Takano, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Foster, Ms. Wasserman
Schultz, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Norton, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
Veasey, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mr.
Hastings, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. DeSaulnier, and Mr. Garamendi)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of
Commerce to provide estimates relating to the distribution of aggregate
economic growth across specific percentile groups of income.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Measuring Real Income Growth Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Economic inequality in the United States has increased
dramatically during the 4 decades preceding the date of
enactment of this Act, with fewer households taking home a
larger share of the national income.
(2) While growth was once distributed relatively evenly
across all individuals in the United States, research shows
that economic gains are increasingly enjoyed by the most
affluent. By contrast, the majority of individuals in the
United States have seen income and wage growth significantly
below what is suggested by national measures of output and
income.
(3) The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of
Commerce (referred to in this section as ``BEA'') reports
annual and quarterly estimates of gross domestic product
(referred to in this section as ``GDP'') in the United States.
These estimates are important measures of the overall size and
health of the economy of the United States but do not describe
how economic gains are distributed across the population of the
United States.
(4) In a country of 325,000,000 individuals, top-line GDP
numbers do not capture the full range of household economic
experiences and may be misleading. The real GDP grew more than
3 percent annually between 2003 and 2005, but the average
income for \1/2\ of all individuals in the United States fell
during that period.
(5) Disaggregating economic growth by income groups will
provide a more complete picture of how families in the United
States are faring across all rungs of the economic ladder and
whether economic growth is benefiting all individuals in the
United States.
(6) Recent academic estimates of distributional growth show
how much of the economic gains during the 40 years preceding
the date of enactment of this Act have accrued to the top of
the income distribution. Between 1980 and 2014, the average
income of the top 1 percent of the income distribution grew 5
times as much as the average income of the bottom 90 percent of
the income distribution and more than 9 times as much as the
average income of the bottom \1/2\.
(7) Official and timely estimates of distributional growth
from BEA, reported alongside top-line GDP numbers, would enable
Congress to better evaluate economic policies that impact every
individual in the United States.
(8) Efforts to address slow wage growth, stagnant incomes,
and growing economic inequality require broadening the focus
beyond GDP and obtaining metrics that better correspond to the
experiences of all families in the United States.
SEC. 3. ESTIMATES OF AGGREGATE ECONOMIC GROWTH ACROSS INCOME GROUPS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Bureau.--The term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of
Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce.
(2) Gross domestic product analysis.--The term ``gross
domestic product analysis''--
(A) means a quarterly or annual analysis conducted
by the Bureau with respect to the gross domestic
product of the United States; and
(B) includes a revision prepared by the Bureau of
an analysis described in subparagraph (A).
(3) Recent estimate.--The term ``recent estimate'' means
the most recent estimate described in subsection (b) that is
available on the date on which the gross domestic product
analysis with which the estimate is to be included is
conducted.
(b) Inclusion in Reports.--Beginning in 2020, in each gross
domestic product analysis conducted by the Bureau, the Bureau shall
include a recent estimate of, with respect to specific percentile
groups of income, the total amount that was added to the economy of the
United States during the period to which the recent estimate pertains,
including in--
(1) each of the 10 deciles of income; and
(2) the highest 1 percent of income.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce such sums as are necessary to
carry out this section.
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