I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1035
To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to conduct
a pilot program to raise awareness about telecommuting among small
business employers, and to encourage such employers to offer telecom-
muting options to employees.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 14, 2001
Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mr. FROST, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HILLIARD,
Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr.
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs.
TAUSCHER, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. UDALL
of New Mexico, Mr. WU, and Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Adminis-
tration to conduct a pilot program to raise awareness
about telecommuting among small business employers,
and to encourage such employers to offer telecommuting
options to employees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Business Tele-
commuting Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) telecommuting reduces the volume of peak
commuter traffic, thereby reducing traffic congestion
and air pollution;
(2) the Nation’s communities can benefit from
telecommuting, which gives workers more time to
spend at home with their families;
(3) it is in the national interest to raise aware-
ness within the small business community of tele-
commuting options for employees;
(4) the small business community can benefit
from offering telecommuting options to employees
because such options make it easier for small em-
ployers to retain valued employees and employees
with irreplaceable institutional memory;
(5) companies with telecommuting programs
have found that telecommuting can boost employee
productivity 5 percent to 20 percent, thereby saving
businesses valuable resources and time;
(6) 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; and
(7) individuals with disabilities, including dis-
abled American veterans, who own or are employed
by small businesses could benefit from telecom-
muting to their workplaces.
SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS TELECOMMUTING PILOT PRO-
GRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this Act, the
Administrator shall conduct, in not more than 5 of the
Small Business Administration’s regions, a pilot program
to raise awareness about telecommuting among small busi-
ness employers and to encourage such employers to offer
telecommuting options to employees.
(b) SPECIAL OUTREACH TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Adminis-
trator shall make special efforts to conduct outreach to—
(1) businesses owned by or employing individ-
uals with disabilities, and disabled American vet-
erans 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 pur-
pose 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 telecommuting;
(2) conduct outreach—
(A) to small business concerns that are
considering offering telecommuting options; and
(B) as provided in subsection (b); and
(3) acquire telecommuting technologies and
equipment to be used for demonstration purposes.
(d) SELECTION OF REGIONS.—In determining which
regions will participate in the pilot program, the Adminis-
trator shall give priority consideration to regions in which
Federal agencies and private-sector employers have dem-
onstrated a strong regional commitment to telecommuting.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 2 years after the first date on which
funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit to the Committee on Small Business
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Small Business of the Senate a report containing the re-
sults of an evaluation of the pilot program and any rec-
ommendations as to whether the pilot program, with or
without modification, should be extended to include the
participation of all Small Business Administration regions.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Small Business Administration;
(2) the term ‘‘disability’’ has the same meaning
as in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102);
(3) the term ‘‘pilot program’’ means the pro-
gram established under section 3; and
(4) the term ‘‘telecommuting’’ means the use of
telecommunications to perform work functions under
circumstances which reduce or eliminate the need to
commute.
SEC. 6. TERMINATION.
The pilot program shall terminate 2 years after the
first date on which funds are appropriated to carry out
this Act.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Small
Business Administration $5,000,000 to carry out this Act.
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