15 U.S.C. § 3117: Capital formation

Summary

The Economic Report must include an Investment Policy Report and must look at federal policies that affect public investment. Congress says that steady jobs and balanced growth help create the capital businesses need. It also says lots of new capital is needed to expand production, raise productivity, meet health, safety, and environmental rules, and replace old equipment. Affordable capital helps U.S. firms compete, create new technology, improve work conditions, and raise living standards. Special barriers that hurt small businesses should be removed. Private firms provide most investment, but federal, State, and local government investment also matters. The Investment Policy Report must review federal programs and policies that affect business investment, such as tax rules, spending, regulation, trade, and support for research and technology. It must assess how much investment capital is available to small, medium, and large businesses, look at trends, and describe programs and proposals to carry out the policy in section 1021(i). The report must also assess how overall economic policy and inflation affect investment. The President must put recommended new programs or changes in the President’s Budget and send any other budget recommendations to help meet section 1021(i). When sent to Congress, the report goes to the Joint Economic Committee. The Economic Report must also review federal policies that affect public investment, including grants to State and local governments, and recommend ways to improve public investment to meet the goals of the Employment Act of 1946.

Title 15, §3117

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congressional findings

The Congress finds that—

(1)promotion of full employment and balanced growth is in itself a principal avenue to high and sustained rates of capital formation;

(2)high rates of capital formation are necessary to ensure adequate rates of capacity expansion and productivity growth, compliance with governmental health, safety and environmental standards, and the replacement of obsolete production equipment;

(3)the ability of our economy to compete successfully in international markets, the development of new technology, improved working conditions, expanding job opportunities, and an increasing standard of living depend on the availability of adequate capital at reasonable cost to commerce and industry;

(4)an important goal of national policy shall be to remove obstacles to the free flow of resources into new investment, particularly those obstacles that hinder the creation and growth of smaller businesses because general national programs and policies to aid and stimulate private enterprise are not sufficient to deal with the special problems and needs of smaller businesses; and

(5)while private business firms are, and should continue to be, the major source of investment, the investment activities of the Federal, State, and local governments play an important role in affecting the level of output, employment, and productivity and in achieving other national purposes.

(b)Investment Policy Report; recommendations in President’s Budget; referral to Joint Economic Committee

The Economic Report shall include an Investment Policy Report which shall, as appropriate, (1) review and assess existing Federal Government programs and policies which affect business investment decisions, including, but not limited to, the relevant aspects of the tax code, Federal expenditure policy, Federal regulatory policy, international trade policy, and Federal support for research, development, and diffusion of new technologies; (2) provide an assessment of the levels of investment capital available, required by, and applied to small, medium and large business entities; (3) provide an analysis of current foreseeable trends in the level of investment capital available to such entities; and (4) provide a description of programs and proposals for carrying out the policy set forth in section 1021(i) of this title. In addition, the Economic Report shall include an assessment of the effect of the overall economic policy environment and the rate of inflation on business investment. The President shall recommend in the President’s Budget, as appropriate, new programs or modifications to improve existing programs concerned with private capital formation. The President shall also transmit to the Congress as part of the President’s Budget such other recommendations as the President may deem necessary or desirable to achieve the policy as set forth in section 1021(i) of this title. The Investment Policy Report, when transmitted to the Congress, shall be referred to the Joint Economic Committee.

(c)Review in Economic Report of Federal policies and programs which affect public investments; recommendations respecting new policies or programs

The Economic Report referred to in subsection (b) shall review and assess Federal policies and programs which directly, or through grants-in-aid to State and local governments, or indirectly through other means, affect the adequacy, composition and effectiveness of public investments, as a means of achieving the goals of this chapter and the Employment Act of 1946 [15 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.]. The President shall recommend, as appropriate, new programs and policies or modifications to improve existing Federal programs affecting public investment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The tax code, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), means Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. section 1021(i) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “section 102(i)” probably meaning section 102 of Pub. L. 95–523 which amended section 2 of the Employment Act of 1946, classified to section 1021 of this title. Subsec. (i) of section 1021 of this title sets out the congressional declaration of policy for private enterprise investments. For definition of “this chapter”, referred to in subsec. (c), see

References in Text

note set out under section 3102 of this title. The Employment Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (c), is act Feb. 20, 1946, ch. 33, 60 Stat. 23, which is classified generally to chapter 21 (§ 1021 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1021 of this title and Tables.

§3117 Capital Formation

Summary

Title 15, §3117

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

References in Text

Short Title

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