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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release July 15, 1999

STATEMENT BY THE VICE PRESIDENT

BACKGROUND
The Department of Commerce regularly tracks and reports data on national economic activity through the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) -- which form the basis for measuring Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the market value of goods and services produced each year.

In 1992, the Department of Commerce/Bureau of Economic Analysis began to study the economic value of the nation's environmental resources, as part of its National Income and Product Accounts analysis.

In 1994, however, Congress, ordered the Department of Commerce to suspend this work and obtain an external review of environmental accounting.

Today the National Research Council released a report entitled "Nature's Numbers: Expanding the National Economic Accounts to Include the Environment." The report recommends expanding the national economic accounts to reflect the value of our forests, fisheries and other natural resources.

STATEMENT BY THE VICE PRESIDENT

I thank the National Research Council for its thoughtful work and support their recommendation that the Department of Commerce consider expanding our national economic accounts to track the interaction between natural resources, the environment, and the economy.

American families value clean air, clean water, and green spaces where their children can play and relax and I think our national economic accounting should do so as well. Unfortunately, the United States lags behind other nations in measuring the economic value of our environment.

If we understand how much our natural resources contribute to our economy, we would help business and government make better investment and policy decisions. Better information can help our economy grow while protecting our natural heritage.

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