Economic models are an important tool for evaluating the potential impact of proposed legislation on our economy. This brief compares modeling analyses of the House-passed clean energy and climate bill (H.R. 2454) conducted by seven different groups including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and an academic institution. It identifies key similarities and differences among these analyses and draws the following conclusions:
- GDP will continue to grow robustly with the passage of the House bill.
- Household income grows robustly across all models with many models finding relatively modest impacts.
- The availability of low-carbon technologies to generate electricity is crucial to minimizing the costs of achieving the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets in the House bill.
- The more offsets included in the program, the lower the costs.
- The degree to which the modeling analyses accurately reflect key provisions in the House bill will impact their estimates of costs.