[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4894 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4894
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an alternative metric
for measuring the net benefits of economic activity, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2021
Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Newman, Mr. Evans, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Jayapal,
and Ms. Bush) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on
the Budget, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Financial
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an alternative metric
for measuring the net benefits of economic activity, 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 ``Genuine Progress Indicator Act of
2021'' or the ``GPI Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. GENUINE PROGRESS INDICATOR.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce (in this Act referred
to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the Director of the Bureau for
Economic Analysis, shall establish a metric to be known as the
``genuine progress indicator'' to measure the economic well-being of
households, calculated through adjustments to gross domestic product
that account for positive and negative economic, environmental, and
social factors that contribute to economic activity, including the
factors described in subsection (b).
(b) Factors.--The genuine progress indicator established under
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) Benefits.--With respect to benefits, the total annual
economic value of--
(A) personal consumption expenditures, net of
investments, and defensive spending;
(B) the purchase of consumer durables and other
household durables used for home improvement, including
appliances, vehicles, and solar panels;
(C) publicly provided goods and services;
(D) higher education;
(E) job skills that are essential to an economy
that--
(i) is self-sufficient; and
(ii) addresses ecological scarcities and
directs resources to sustainable development
without degrading the environment;
(F) time spent toward leisure activities;
(G) unpaid labor, including--
(i) parenting;
(ii) volunteering; and
(iii) time spent on household duties;
(H) infrastructure, including--
(i) transportation systems;
(ii) communication networks; and
(iii) sewage, water, and electric systems;
and
(I) ecosystem services with respect to protected
natural areas, including--
(i) flood control;
(ii) water purification;
(iii) pollination of crops;
(iv) control of pests and invasive
specifies;
(v) outdoor recreation;
(vi) hunting and fishing;
(vii) harvesting of plants for medicinal
and edible purposes;
(viii) carbon sequestration; and
(ix) maintenance of biological and genetic
diversity.
(2) Costs.--With respect to costs, the total annual
economic costs of--
(A) income inequality based on household
expenditures;
(B) underemployment and unemployment;
(C) homelessness;
(D) domestic abuse;
(E) violent, property, white-collar, and organized
crime;
(F) water, air, and noise pollution at the
household and national level;
(G) the loss of farmland and productive soils,
including soil quality degradation;
(H) the loss of natural wetlands, primary forest
area, and other at-risk ecosystems;
(I) high amounts of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gas emissions;
(J) the depletion of the ozone layer;
(K) the depletion of nonrenewable sources of
energy;
(L) lost leisure time due to traffic congestion;
and
(M) accidents involving motor vehicles.
(c) Use of Genuine Progress Indicator.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency,
the President, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Congress shall,
with respect to any budgetary reporting and economic forecasting
involving a measure of the net benefits of economic activity, use both
the genuine progress indicator established pursuant to subsection (a)
and gross domestic product, including--
(1) with respect to the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office, the report submitted pursuant to section
202(e)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
602(e)(1));
(2) with respect to the President--
(A) each budget proposal submitted pursuant to
section 1105 of title 31, United States Code; and
(B) each report submitted pursuant to section 4 of
the Employment Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1022a);
(3) with respect to the Chair of the Federal Reserve, the
report submitted pursuant to section 225b(b) of the Federal
Reserve Act of 1913 (12 U.S.C. 225b(b)); and
(4) with respect to Congress--
(A) each economic report submitted by the committee
established under section 11 of the Employment Act of
1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024); and
(B) each tax investigation report developed by the
Joint Committee on Taxation pursuant to section 8022 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary and the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office shall submit to Congress a report on--
(1) the development of the genuine progress indicator under
subsection (a);
(2) the cost of such development; and
(3) the utility of the genuine progress indicator with
respect to measuring the net benefits of economic activity.
(e) Federal Agency Defined.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
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