(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 lost work time and increased fuel consumption;
(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) the average travel time to work is 25 minutes each way;
(6) telework reduces the volume of peak commuter traffic, thereby reducing traffic congestion and air pollution;
(7) the Nation's communities can benefit from telework, which gives workers more time to spend at home with their families;
(8) it is in the national interest to raise awareness within the small business community of telework options for employees;
(9) 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;
(10) companies with telework programs have found that telework can boost employee productivity 5 percent to 20 percent, thereby saving businesses valuable resources and time;
(11) individuals with disabilities, including service-disabled veterans, who own or are employed by small businesses could benefit from telework to their workplaces;
(12) telework has the potential to provide more employment opportunities in rural communities; and
(13) telework is seen as a valuable tool in disaster preparedness and business continuity.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.5217 as Introduced in House Small Business Telework Promotion Act
