[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 422 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 422

   To require the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to 
conduct time use surveys of unremunerated work performed in the United 
        States and to calculate the monetary value of such work.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 1997

 Mrs. Morella introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to 
conduct time use surveys of unremunerated work performed in the United 
        States and to calculate the monetary value of such work.

    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 ``Unremunerated Work Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Women perform \2/3\ of the work in the world relating 
        to the production of goods and services.
            (2) The United Nations General Assembly in 1985 adopted a 
        resolution which included part of the Forward Looking 
        Strategies for the Advancement of Women, which states that 
        ``the remunerated and, in particular, the unremunerated 
        contributions of women to all aspects and sectors of 
        development should be recognized, and appropriate efforts 
        should be made to measure and reflect these contributions in 
        national accounts and economic statistics and in the gross 
        national product''.
            (3) The resolution also states that ``concrete steps should 
        be taken to quantify the unremunerated contribution of women to 
        agriculture, food production, reproduction, and household 
        activities''.
            (4) The unremunerated contribution by women to the economy 
        of the United States should be recognized.

SEC. 3. CALCULATION OF MONETARY VALUE OF UNREMUNERATED WORK.

    (a) Time Use Surveys of Unremunerated Work.--The Commissioner of 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall periodically conduct time use 
surveys of unremunerated work performed in the United States, including 
household work, work related to child care and other care services, 
agricultural work, work related to food production, work related to 
family businesses, and volunteer work.
    (b) Monetary Value of Unremunerated Work.--On the basis of the time 
use surveys of unremunerated work conducted under subsection (a), the 
Commissioner shall calculate the monetary value of such unremunerated 
work. Separate monetary values shall be calculated for men and women.
    (c) Inclusion in Gross National Product.--Beginning 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the monetary value of the 
unremunerated work calculated pursuant to subsection (b) shall be 
included in statistics used to determine the annual gross national 
product of the United States.
    (d) Method of Calculation.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall submit a report to 
the Congress describing the method by which the Commissioner will 
conduct time use surveys of unremunerated work performed in the United 
States and calculate the monetary value of such unremunerated work.
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