[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1994 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1994

 To authorize appropriations for environmental research, development, 
    and demonstration for fiscal years 1994, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 1993

Mr. Valentine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize appropriations for environmental research, development, 
    and demonstration for fiscal years 1994, 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 ``Environmental Research, Development, 
and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
        (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Administrator'') 
        $536,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 for environmental research, 
        development, and demonstration activities and for program 
        management and support of the Office of Research and 
        Development.
            (2) Effect on other authorization.--Nothing in this Act 
        shall affect amounts authorized for fiscal year 1994 for 
        Superfund research activities as authorized by the Superfund 
        Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-499; 
        100 Stat. 1613).
    (b) Limitation on Closing Offices and Reductions-in-Force.--No 
funds appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be used by the 
Administrator to close any field station, regional office, laboratory, 
or other research center, or for any reduction-in-force, and no such 
closing or reduction shall be finalized, unless at least thirty days 
prior to the issuing of any general notice of such closing or reduction 
the Administrator informs the appropriate legislative and 
appropriations committees of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate in writing of the reasons for such closing or reduction, the 
impact of such closing or reduction on carrying out the provisions of 
this Act, the details of such reduction or closing, and other pertinent 
information.
    (c) Availability.--Appropriations made pursuant to this Act shall 
remain available for obligation or expenditure for such periods as may 
be specified in the Acts making such appropriations.

SEC. 3. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS.

    (a) Establishment.--In addition to providing research support for 
the regulatory needs of the program offices, the Administrator shall 
establish separately identified research programs consisting of 
fundamental ecological, health, and risk reduction research. Such 
research shall be undertaken for the purpose of generating fundamental 
knowledge necessary to support efforts to identify, assess, and 
mitigate serious environmental risks.
    (b) Authority.--In carrying out programs under this section, the 
Administrator may support research on environmental processes and 
trends, identification and assessment of potential risks to human 
health and the environment, and approaches to prevent and reduce such 
risks. The Administrator is authorized to establish and maintain 
resources, expertise, and facilities necessary to the advancement of 
the fundamental research programs established in this section.
    (c) Science Advisory Board.--The Science Advisory Board established 
under the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration 
Authorization Act of 1978 (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Science Advisory Board''), or a designated subcommittee thereof, 
shall--
            (1) review the activities undertaken under the programs 
        established under subsection (a);
            (2) make recommendations on the appropriate balance between 
        the fundamental research and the programmatic research 
        undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency and update 
        such recommendations at least every two years;
            (3) make any recommendations with respect to the programs 
        established under subsection (a) that the Science Advisory 
        Board considers to be appropriate; and
            (4) every two years beginning in March 1994, submit to the 
        Administrator and to the Congress a report containing the 
        results of a review undertaken pursuant to paragraph (1) and 
        the recommendations (with any updates thereto) made pursuant to 
        paragraphs (2) and (3).
    (d) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2 of the Environmental Research, 
Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1981 is amended by 
striking subsection (f).

SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish an 
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program to conduct 
comprehensive, long-term environmental monitoring, data collection, and 
data analysis as a means of assessing and responding to the current and 
long-term status and trends of the ecological resources of the United 
States.
    (b) Coordination.--The Administrator shall coordinate the 
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program activities with the 
heads of other Federal agencies in order to identify, integrate, and 
fully utilize results of related efforts undertaken by other agencies 
and minimize duplication of efforts.
    (c) Annual Report.--The Administrator shall publish an annual 
report identifying and assessing the performance of the activities 
undertaken under the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, 
the effectiveness of interagency coordination, and the contributions of 
multiagency research to the advancement of research goals.
    (d) Public Data.--The Administrator shall periodically submit to 
Congress and make publicly available a compilation of any statistical 
data summaries and interpretive reports on ecological status and trends 
developed as a result of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 
Program.

SEC. 5. MODERNIZATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Modernization Program.--The Administrator shall establish a 
modernization program designed to identify, acquire, and maintain 
modern buildings, facilities, supplies and equipment needed to conduct 
high quality research. In carrying out this section, the Administrator 
shall ensure that such buildings, facilities, supplies, and equipment 
shall at a minimum meet the standards generally accepted by the 
scientific community as appropriate for conducting research, including 
research instrumentation replacement standards.
    (b) Studies.--The Administrator shall conduct studies--
            (1) to evaluate and determine the adequacy of current 
        buildings, facilities, supplies, and equipment and identify 
        future building, facility, supplies, equipment and research 
        instrumentation needs; and
            (2) to identify and assess future research personnel needs 
        and make recommendations for attracting and retaining qualified 
        scientists, engineers and other personnel to meet such needs.
    (c) Deadline for Submission.--The studies required by this section 
shall be submitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works of the Senate within one year after the date of enactment 
of this Act.

SEC. 6. REPEAL OF 5-YEAR RESEARCH REPORT REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Repeal.--Section 5 of the Environmental Research, Development, 
and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1976 is repealed.
    (b) Amendments to the Environmental Research, Development, and 
Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978.--The Environmental Research, 
Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 is amended as 
follows:
            (1) Strike section 4.
            (2) Strike ``including those defined in the five-year 
        research plan'' at the end of section 7(a).
            (3) Strike section 8(c).
            (4) Strike ``The Administrator shall include'' and all that 
        follows through the end of the subsection in section 9(a).

SEC. 7. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) Annual Report.--The Science Advisory Board shall submit to 
Congress and to the Administrator an annual report that contains the 
views of the Science Advisory Board on proposed research programs as 
described in the President's budget request for research, development, 
and demonstration activities at the Environmental Protection Agency. 
Such report shall be submitted to Congress as soon as practicable after 
the submission of the President's budget to Congress. The Administrator 
shall cooperate with the Director of the Science Advisory Board, 
particularly with respect to the timely provision of budget information 
to the Science Advisory Board, to allow the Science Advisory Board to 
carry out its duties under this subsection.
    (b) Evaluation.--The Science Advisory Board shall conduct periodic 
evaluations of selected areas of the current and planned research, 
development, and demonstration activities of the Environmental 
Protection Agency. The areas of evaluation shall be selected by the 
Science Advisory Board in consultation with the Administrator, the 
Office of Research and Development, other Agency programs, the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
the Senate. Reports containing the Science Advisory Board's evaluations 
and recommendations shall be filed with such committees and the 
Administrator. The Administrator shall provide to such committees a 
written response to the Science Advisory Board's evaluation and 
recommendations within sixty days after the Science Advisory Board's 
report has been submitted.
    (c) Concurrent Submission to Congress.--Any report required by law 
to be submitted by the Science Advisory Board to the Administrator 
shall be concurrently submitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works in the Senate.

SEC. 8. MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORIZATION FOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

    In reviewing research, development and demonstration grant, 
contract, and cooperative agreement applications, the Administrator may 
enter into cooperative agreements to conduct appropriate scientific and 
professional reviews of such applications and may use research funds 
authorized by this Act for such cooperative agreements.

SEC. 9. RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS REPORT.

    The Administrator shall submit an annual report to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate setting out the 
accomplishments of the research, development, and demonstration 
programs for which funds are authorized by this Act and the 
significance of such accomplishments to the Environmental Protection 
Agency's mission.

SEC. 10. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE.

    The Administrator shall carry out a program of environmental 
technology transfer and exchange of scientific and technical 
information designed to make full and effective use of the Agency's 
research, development, and demonstration efforts. The Administrator may 
establish and maintain resources necessary to advance such technology 
transfer and information exchange program.

SEC. 11. RESEARCH TO SUPPORT THE EVALUATION OF HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL 
              RISK.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a separately 
identified research program designed to improve the capability of the 
Environmental Protection Agency to identify, assess, and compare risks 
to public health and natural ecosystems resulting from contamination of 
the environment.
    (b) Objectives.--Under the program authorized by subsection (a), 
the Administrator may conduct research to--
            (1) develop and improve methodologies for the comparison of 
        risks to public health and natural ecosystems, including risks 
        resulting from contamination of different environmental media;
            (2) facilitate the monitoring of pollutants and 
        contaminants discharged to the environment;
            (3) identify and develop methodologies for assessing and 
        reducing risks to natural ecosystems;
            (4) develop and improve methodologies for the assessment of 
        noncancer risks to public health and the integrated assessment 
        of cancer and noncancer health risks;
            (5) support any other activities of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency relating to the identification, assessment, 
        or comparison of risks to public health and natural ecosystems 
        resulting from contamination of the environment; and
            (6) develop improved methodologies for evaluating the 
        benefits, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of ecological 
        protection activities, including improved methods to value 
        natural resources and to account for long-term environmental 
        effects in the Agency's economic analysis.

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