WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), the chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today released the following statement after filing the Committee’s Joint Economic Report, which is required on an annual basis by legislative statute:

“Despite good intentions, many of the policies that the administration details in the Economic Report of the President would do very little to promote the economic well-being of our economy unless the president works cooperatively with Congress to enact sensible policy changes. We took a hard look at the assumptions underlying the administration’s policies and found that they complicate any hope of addressing America’s long-term fiscal sustainability. There is some common ground, and I look forward to discussing this report and our findings with Chairman Furman at tomorrow’s JEC hearing. My hope is that we can find ways to jumpstart our economy, particularly through tax reform, new trade agreements and increased energy production.”

The Economic Report of the President (ERP) is an annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers that overviews the nation's economic progress. By law, the Joint Economic Committee is required to issue a response to this report.

Findings in the 2015 Joint Economic Report suggest the ERP ignores several important economic realities, among them:

• The growth gap between this recovery and average post-1960 recoveries will continue in the near future;
• Many of the subsidies and regulations that have been put in place or extended since the recent recession will continue to affect labor participation;
• Increased productivity and participation alone cannot grow the United States out of the dire fiscal circumstances we’re in after the recent recession, and these challenges will only increase in the coming years as spending obligations on health care and retirees engulf the budget;
• Action to address the unsustainable growth of mandatory spending programs need to happen now to ensure their continue vitality for current and future generations; and
• Opportunities to improve GDP growth are available now if only the Administration would unleash additional energy production opportunities, and additionally, if the Administration would work with Congress to secure Trade Promotion Authority to finalize new trade agreements.

The full report, as submitted to Congress, is available here.

Additionally, today members of the Joint Economic Committee voted to name Senator Coats as Chairman of the JEC for the 114^th Congress.