[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7234 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7234

   To increase research, the synthesis of research findings, and the 
production of scientific information on chemicals, and to expedite the 
   listing of information in the Integrated Risk Information System 
      maintained by the Office of Research and Development of the 
                    Environmental Protection Agency.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2008

 Mr. Miller of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To increase research, the synthesis of research findings, and the 
production of scientific information on chemicals, and to expedite the 
   listing of information in the Integrated Risk Information System 
      maintained by the Office of Research and Development of the 
                    Environmental Protection Agency.

    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 ``Integrated Risk Information System 
Authorization Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of 
        Research and Development met a pressing national need when it 
        created the Integrated Risk Information System in 1985 to 
        disseminate scientific information on the toxicity of 
        chemicals.
            (2) The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is the 
        Nation's premier database for scientific information on the 
        toxicity of chemicals.
            (3) Researchers, government officials, public health 
        experts, and members of the public all rely on IRIS for 
        information about health risks associated with exposure to 
        chemicals with some 9 million inquiries of the database each 
        year.
            (4) IRIS provides important scientific information that 
        supports the development of risk assessments of chemicals.
            (5) An estimated 700 new chemicals enter the marketplace in 
        the United States each year, presenting a constant challenge to 
        keep the IRIS database up-to-date.
            (6) The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research 
        and Development's efforts to enter new scientific information 
        about the toxicity of chemicals into the IRIS database has 
        ground to a halt in recent years due to an overly burdensome 
        review process.
            (7) The burdensome new review process has slowed new 
        entries to the IRIS database to an average of just 2 per year.
            (8) The Nation needs more, and more timely, scientific 
        assessments of chemicals to guide further research and to 
        inform decisions.
            (9) The development and review of chemical assessments for 
        inclusion in the IRIS database must be a science-based process 
        managed by the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of 
        Research and Development, and this Office must move more 
        expeditiously to produce assessments without interference by 
        other Federal offices.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Assistant Administrator'' means the 
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development of 
the Environmental Protection Agency.

SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Database.--The Assistant Administrator shall maintain a 
publicly accessible database of scientific information on the toxicity 
of chemicals, including--
            (1) hazard identification;
            (2) dose response assessments;
            (3) reference doses; and
            (4) any other information that would facilitate the 
        development of risk assessments.
    (b) Final Assessments.--The Assistant Administrator shall publish 
final assessments for at least 15 new chemicals per year and shall 
publish at least 5 updates to existing assessments per year.
    (c) Nominations for Toxicity Assessments.--The Assistant 
Administrator shall solicit nominations for chemical assessments from 
Environmental Protection Agency program offices, other Federal 
agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, and the public.
    (d) List.--The Assistant Administrator shall issue a list of 
chemicals proposed for assessment 2 years prior to the initiation of a 
chemical's assessment. A chemical assessment shall be completed and 
made available on the database maintained under subsection (a) within 4 
years after its appearance on a list under this subsection. Such list 
shall not be subject to review or approval by any other Federal agency 
or official.

SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--The Assistant Administrator shall determine the 
information to be used to assess a chemical and shall establish a 
process for reviewing a chemical assessment prior to its inclusion on 
the database maintained under section 4(a). The process shall include 
the following:
            (1) Opportunity for public comment by the stakeholder 
        community, including other Federal agencies that will use the 
        database.
            (2) Opportunity for internal deliberation and review in 
        cooperation with other Federal agencies with statutory 
        responsibilities over public health or whose primary mission is 
        to conduct or support research in the areas of public health or 
        environmental protection.
            (3) Peer review of the chemical assessment by independent 
        scientists prior to its publication in the database.
    (b) Exclusions.--In establishing the process in subsection (a), the 
Assistant Administrator shall ensure that--
            (1) Federal agencies with a real or perceived conflict of 
        interest shall not participate in the development or internal 
        review of chemical assessments; and
            (2) the Assistant Administrator shall develop and review 
        chemical assessments without review by the President and shall 
        publish final assessments without prior review by the President 
        or any other Federal agency or official.

SEC. 6. INAPPLICABILITY OF BULLETINS.

    The preparation and review of chemical assessments shall not be 
subject to the provisions of Bulletin No. 07-02, Final Bulletin for 
Agency Good Guidance Practices and the Final Information Quality 
Bulletin for Peer Review of the Office of Management and Budget.

SEC. 7. BACKLOG OF CHEMICAL ASSESSMENTS.

    For chemical assessments that have been in development for IRIS 
entries prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
Administrator shall finalize and publish those entries within 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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