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Rep. Maloney, Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, on New Income Growth Measures Included in Spending Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair Designate of the Joint Economic Committee, applauded a provision in the government spending bill that passed Congress yesterday and was signed into law today, which encourages the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to report annually on how income is growing across the income distribution. Congresswoman Maloney is the author of the House legislation that calls for the BEA to conduct such analyses, the Measuring Real Income Growth Act (H.R. 707).

“I’m pleased the spending bill encourages the Bureau of Economic Analysis to report on how Gross Domestic Product breaks down by income level, similar to the analysis required in the Measuring Real Income Growth Act I introduced this year and last. This is an important step. GDP tells us how fast or slowly the economy is growing, but it doesn’t tell us who is benefitting from that growth. With information about how GDP growth is distributed, we will be better equipped to craft policies that address inequality in the country.”

“I will continue to work to have these and additional provisions codified into law and make this analysis mandatory instead of voluntary. It’s important to see not just how growth is shared across each decile of income level, but also to understand how the top 1 percent are doing compared to everyone else.”

Maloney introduced the Measuring Real Income Growth Act (H.R. 707) this Congress and also in the 115th Congress. The legislation would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to publish distributional analyses of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These new reports would give policymakers a clearer picture of how economic growth is distributed among Americans of all income levels, providing new perspective on economic inequality.

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