[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5163 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5163

  To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 conduct a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among small 
 business employers, and to encourage such employers to offer telework 
             options to employees, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2006

Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, 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 Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 conduct a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among small 
 business employers, and to encourage such employers to offer telework 
             options to employees, 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 ``Federal and Small Business Telework 
Promotion Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Federal, State, and local governments spend billions of 
        dollars annually on the Nation's transportation needs;
            (2) congestion on the Nation's roads costs over 
        $63,000,000,000 annually in lost work time, fuel consumption, 
        and costs of infrastructure and equipment repair;
            (3) on average, on-road vehicles contribute 34 percent of 
        nitrogen oxides emissions;
            (4) it is estimated that staying at home to work requires 3 
        times less energy consumption than commuting to work;
            (5) in 2000, it was reported that if an identified 10 to 20 
        percent of commuters switched to teleworking, 1,800,000 tons of 
        regulated pollutants would be eliminated, 3,500,000,000 gallons 
        of gas would be saved, 3,100,000,000 hours of personal time 
        would be freed up, and maintenance and infrastructure costs 
        would decrease by $500,000,000 annually because of reduced 
        congestion and reduced vehicle miles traveled;
            (6) the average American daily commute is 49 minutes for a 
        24-mile round trip (a total of 100 hours per year);
            (7) the increase in work from 1969 to 1996, the increase in 
        hours mothers spend in paid work, combined with a shift toward 
        single-parent families resulted in families on average 
        experiencing a decrease of 22 hours a week (14 percent) in 
        parental time available outside of paid work they could spend 
        with their children;
            (8) today 60 percent of the workforce is involved in 
        information work (an increase of 43 percent since 1990) 
        allowing and encouraging decentralization of paid work to 
        occur;
            (9) telework reduces the volume of peak commuter traffic, 
        thereby reducing traffic congestion and air pollution;
            (10) the Nation's communities can benefit from telework, 
        which gives workers more time to spend at home with their 
        families;
            (11) it is in the national interest to raise awareness 
        within the small business community of telework options for 
        employees;
            (12) the small business community can benefit from offering 
        telework options to employees because such options make it 
        easier for small employers to retain valued employees and 
        employees with irreplaceable institutional memory;
            (13) companies with telework programs have found that 
        telework can boost employee productivity 5 percent to 20 
        percent, thereby saving businesses valuable resources and time;
            (14) individuals with disabilities, including disabled 
        American veterans, who own or are employed by small businesses 
        could benefit from telework to their workplaces;
            (15) telework has the potential to provide more employment 
        opportunities in rural communities;
            (16) estimates indicate that about 40,000,000 Americans are 
        currently teleworking;
            (17) teleworking is seen as a valuable tool in worker 
        productivity and is of interest to the Federal workforce; and
            (18) the Government Accountability Office notes that 
        140,694 employees teleworked, representing a 37 percent 
        increase from 2003, a growth that demonstrates a steady 
        escalation over time as the overall number of teleworkers in 
        the Federal Government has grown since 2001 with 72,844 
        teleworkers, in 2002 with 90,010 teleworkers, and in 2003 with 
        102,921 teleworkers.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF EMPLOYEE VEHICLE FUEL CONSUMPTION BY FEDERAL 
              AGENCIES.

    Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 
U.S.C. 8253) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Reduction of Employee Vehicle Fuel Consumption by Federal 
Agencies.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each agency shall take such actions as 
        are necessary to reduce the level of fuel consumed by vehicles 
        of employees of the agency (other than fuel used for military 
        purposes), in connection with the employment of the employees, 
        by (to the maximum extent practicable) 10 percent or more 
        during the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 
        this subsection.
            ``(2) Methods.--An agency may use such methods as the 
        agency determines are appropriate to achieve the target 
        established by paragraph (1), including--
                    ``(A) telework;
                    ``(B) carpooling;
                    ``(C) bicycling and walking to work;
                    ``(D) fuel-efficient trip planning;
                    ``(E) public transportation use; and
                    ``(F) limiting travel days for vehicle travel 
                outside the office.''.

SEC. 4. SMALL BUSINESS TELEWORK PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall carry out, in not more than 5 of the Small 
Business Administration's regions, a pilot program under this section 
to raise awareness about telework among small business employers and to 
encourage such employers to offer telework options to employees.
    (b) Special Outreach to Individuals With Disabilities.--In carrying 
out the pilot program, the Administrator shall make special efforts to 
conduct outreach to--
            (1) businesses owned by or employing individuals with 
        disabilities, and disabled American veterans in particular;
            (2) Federal, State, and local agencies having knowledge and 
        expertise in assisting individuals with disabilities or 
        disabled American veterans; and
            (3) any group or organization, the primary purpose of which 
        is to aid individuals with disabilities or disabled American 
        veterans.
    (c) Permissible Activities.--In carrying out the pilot program, the 
Administrator may only--
            (1) produce educational materials and conduct presentations 
        designed to raise awareness in the small business community of 
        the benefits and the ease of telework;
            (2) conduct outreach--
                    (A) to small business concerns that are considering 
                offering telework options; and
                    (B) as provided in subsection (b); and
            (3) acquire telework technologies and equipment to be used 
        for demonstration purposes.
    (d) Selection of Regions.--In determining which regions will 
participate in the pilot program, the Administrator shall give priority 
consideration to regions in which Federal agencies and private-sector 
employers have demonstrated a strong regional commitment to telework.
    (e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the first 
date on which funds are appropriated to carry out this section, the 
Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report containing the results of an 
evaluation of the pilot program and any recommendations as to whether 
the pilot program, with or without modification, should be extended to 
include the participation of all Small Business Administration regions.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``disability'' has the same meaning as in 
        section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
        U.S.C. 12102); and
            (2) the term ``telework'' means the performance of any 
        portion of work functions by an employee outside the normal 
        place of business under circumstances which reduce or eliminate 
        the need to commute.
    (g) Termination.--The authority to carry out the pilot program 
under this section shall terminate 2 years after the first date on 
which funds are appropriated to carry out this section.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Small Business Administration $5,000,000 to carry 
out this section.
                                 <all>