GPI Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4894 | Sponsor: Rep. Omar, Ilhan (D-MN)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Genuine Progress Indicator Act of 2021 or the GPI Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish the genuine progress indicator as a metric to measure the economic well-being of households.
The indicator shall be calculated through adjustments to gross domestic product that account for positive and negative economic, environmental, and social factors that contribute to economic activity. It shall also include the total annual economic value and cost of such factors.
The head of each federal agency, the President, the Federal Reserve, and Congress must use both the indicator and gross domestic product for budgetary reporting and economic forecasting that measures the net benefits of economic activity.

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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