[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2723 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2723
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
by requiring a distribution analysis of a bill or resolution under
certain circumstances, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 13, 2021
Ms. Warren (for herself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
by requiring a distribution analysis of a bill or resolution under
certain circumstances, and for other purposes.
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 ``Fiscal Analysis by Income and Race
Scoring Act'' or the ``FAIR Scoring Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Wealth inequality is steadily rising in the United
States. As the disparities between the richest Americans and
the poorest Americans widen, White Americans have grown
disproportionately wealthier, while the median wealth of Black
Americans has stagnated.
(2) In 1968, and with the amounts adjusted for inflation,
the median middle-class Black household had $6,674 in wealth,
while the median middle-class White household had $70,786 in
wealth. In 2016, the typical middle-class Black household had
$13,024 in wealth compared to $149,703 for the median White
household.
(3) As of 2019, the typical White family has eight times
the wealth of the typical Black family and five times the
wealth of the typical Hispanic family.
(4) As of 2019, White families have the highest level of
both median wealth: $188,200. Black families' median and mean
wealth is less than 15 percent that of White families, at
$24,100. Hispanic families' median and mean wealth is $36,100.
(5) As of 2019, families who are Asian, American Indian,
Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander have lower
wealth than White families, but higher wealth than Black and
Hispanic families.
(6) The family income gap between Black and White Americans
today remains at almost exactly the level it was in the 1960s.
(7) In 2016, the median annual income for Asian American
adults was $51,288, compared with $47,958 for White Americans,
$31,082 for African Americans, and $30,400 for Hispanic
Americans.
(8) As of the last quarter of 2019, the median White worker
made 28 percent more than the typical Black worker and more
than 35 percent more than the median Latinx worker.
(9) On average, women are paid 82 cents for every dollar
paid to men. For every dollar paid to White men, Black women
are paid 63 cents, Native American women are paid 60 cents, and
Latinas are paid 55 cents.
(10) Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women make
85 cents for every dollar paid to White men, and different
groups within America's AAPI community have unique experiences
with economic discrimination. For example, between 2015 and
2019, Hmong women earned 60 cents for every dollar paid to
White men.
(11) Disparities in wealth between genders are even more
stark. As of 2013, the average wealth for working single women
was $3,210, whereas the single working man had a median wealth
of $10,150. Single Black women had a median wealth of $200, and
single Hispanic women had a median wealth of $100: less than a
penny for every dollar of wealth owned by single White non-
Hispanic men.
(12) The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing
inequalities in America. Many longstanding economic conditions,
such as lower levels of income and wealth and higher levels of
housing and food insecurity, leave individuals of color,
particularly women of color and Black women, with less cushion,
making them more vulnerable during the COVID-19 economic
crisis.
(13) Informed and well-designed policies are needed to curb
the growing inequality between Americans of different races and
income levels. In order to meet this need, Congress needs
access to standardized, reliable information about the
socioeconomic consequences of the legislation it enacts.
SEC. 3. DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS BY INCOME AND RACE.
(a) CBO Estimates.--Section 402 of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and'';
(3) by adding after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) for a bill or joint resolution that has a gross
budgetary effect of at least 0.1 percent of the gross domestic
product of the United States in any fiscal year within the
budget window--
``(A) a distribution analysis by income showing the
transfers that would result in dollars and as a percent
change in after-tax-and-transfer income for as many
years in the budget as is necessary to illustrate the
anticipated effects; and
``(B) a distribution analysis by race showing the
transfers that would result in dollars and as a percent
change in after-tax-and-transfer income for as many
years in the budget as is necessary to illustrate the
anticipated effects.''; and
(4) in the text following paragraph (4) (as added by
paragraph (3) of this subsection) by striking ``and
description'' and inserting ``description, and analyses''.
(b) JCT Estimates.--Section 201(f) of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601(f)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(f) Revenue Legislation.--For the purposes of revenue legislation
which is income, estate and gift, excise, and payroll taxes (i.e.,
Social Security), considered or enacted in any session of Congress, the
Congressional Budget Office shall use exclusively during that session
of Congress revenue estimates and distribution analyses provided to it
by the Joint Committee on Taxation. During that session of Congress
such revenue estimates and distribution analyses shall be transmitted
by the Congressional Budget Office to any committee of the House of
Representatives or the Senate requesting such estimates, and shall be
used by such Committees in determining such estimates. The Budget
Committees of the Senate and House shall determine all estimates with
respect to scoring points of order and with respect to the execution of
the purposes of this Act.''.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS BY GENDER.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall--
(1) prepare a report describing methods appropriate for the
conduct of distribution analyses by gender for major
legislation, including strengths and weaknesses of different
approaches; and
(2) submit such report to the chairs and ranking members of
the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
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