[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 999 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 999

     To provide for Federal coordination of activities supporting 
             sustainable chemistry, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 3, 2019

 Mr. Coons (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Capito, and Ms. Klobuchar) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide for Federal coordination of activities supporting 
             sustainable chemistry, 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 ``Sustainable Chemistry Research and 
Development Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Congress recognized the importance and value of 
        sustainable chemistry and the role of the Federal Government in 
        section 114 of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act 
        (Public Law 114-329);
            (2) sustainable chemistry and materials transformation is a 
        key value contributor to business competitiveness across many 
        industrial and consumer sectors;
            (3) companies across hundreds of supply chains critical to 
        the American economy are seeking to reduce costs and open new 
        markets through innovations in manufacturing and materials, and 
        are in need of new innovations in chemistry, including 
        sustainable chemistry;
            (4) sustainable chemistry can improve the efficiency with 
        which natural resources are used to meet human needs for 
        chemical products while avoiding environmental harm, reduce or 
        eliminate the emissions of and exposures to hazardous 
        substances, minimize the use of resources, and benefit the 
        economy, people, and the environment; and
            (5) a recent report by the Government Accountability Office 
        (GAO-18-307) found that the Federal Government could play an 
        important role in helping realize the full innovation and 
        market potential of sustainable chemistry technologies, 
        including through a coordinated national effort on sustainable 
        chemistry and standardized tools and definitions to support 
        sustainable chemistry research, development, demonstration, and 
        commercialization.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATING ENTITY FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy shall convene an interagency entity (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Entity'') under the National Science and Technology 
Council with the responsibility to coordinate Federal programs and 
activities in support of sustainable chemistry, including those 
described in sections 5 and 6.
    (b) Coordination With Existing Groups.--In convening the Entity, 
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 
consider overlap and possible coordination with existing committees, 
subcommittees, or other groups of the National Science and Technology 
Council, such as--
            (1) the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and 
        Sustainability;
            (2) the Committee on Technology;
            (3) the Committee on Science; or
            (4) related groups or subcommittees.
    (c) Co-Chairs.--The Entity shall be co-chaired by representatives 
from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, and the National Science Foundation.
    (d) Agency Participation.--The Entity shall include 
representatives, including subject matter experts, from the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Department of 
Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the 
National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and other related Federal 
agencies, as appropriate.

SEC. 4. ROADMAP FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY.

    (a) Roadmap.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Entity shall--
            (1) develop a working framework of attributes 
        characterizing sustainable chemistry, as described in 
        subsection (b);
            (2) assess the state of sustainable chemistry in the United 
        States as a key benchmark from which progress under the 
        activities described in this Act can be measured, including 
        assessing key sectors of the United States economy, key 
        technology platforms, and barriers to innovation;
            (3) coordinate and support Federal research, development, 
        demonstration, technology transfer, commercialization, 
        education, and training efforts in sustainable chemistry, 
        including budget coordination and support for public-private 
        partnerships, as appropriate;
            (4) identify methods by which the Federal agencies can 
        facilitate the development of incentives for development, 
        consideration and use of sustainable chemistry processes and 
        products, including innovative financing mechanisms;
            (5) identify major scientific challenges, roadblocks, or 
        hurdles to transformational progress in improving the 
        sustainability of the chemical sciences; and
            (6) identify other opportunities for expanding Federal 
        efforts in support of sustainable chemistry.
    (b) Attributes Characterizing Sustainable Chemistry.--The Entity 
shall develop a working framework of attributes characterizing 
sustainable chemistry for the purposes of carrying out the Act. In 
developing this framework, the Entity shall--
            (1) seek advice and input from stakeholders as described in 
        subsection (c);
            (2) consider existing definitions of or frameworks 
        characterizing sustainable or green chemistry already in use at 
        Federal agencies;
            (3) consider existing definitions of or frameworks 
        characterizing sustainable or green chemistry already in use by 
        international organizations of which the United States is a 
        member, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
        Development; and
            (4) consider any other appropriate existing definitions of 
        or frameworks characterizing sustainable or green chemistry.
    (c) Consultation.--In carrying out the duties described in 
subsections (a) and (b), the Entity shall consult and coordinate with 
stakeholders qualified to provide advice and information to guide 
Federal activities related to sustainable chemistry through workshops, 
requests for information, and other mechanisms as necessary. The 
stakeholders shall include representatives from--
            (1) business and industry (including trade associations and 
        small- and medium-sized enterprises from across the value 
        chain);
            (2) the scientific community (including the National 
        Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, scientific 
        professional societies, and academia);
            (3) the defense community;
            (4) State, tribal, and local governments, including 
        nonregulatory State or regional sustainable chemistry programs, 
        as appropriate;
            (5) nongovernmental organizations; and
            (6) other appropriate organizations.
    (d) Report to Congress.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Entity shall submit a report to the 
        Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on 
        Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, 
        Space, and Technology, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
        and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives. In addition to the elements described in 
        subsections (a) and (b), the report shall include--
                    (A) a summary of federally funded, sustainable 
                chemistry research, development, demonstration, 
                technology transfer, commercialization, education, and 
                training activities;
                    (B) a summary of the financial resources allocated 
                to sustainable chemistry initiatives;
                    (C) an assessment of the current state of 
                sustainable chemistry in the United States, including 
                the role that Federal agencies are playing in 
                supporting it;
                    (D) an analysis of the progress made toward 
                achieving the goals and priorities of this Act, and 
                recommendations for future program activities;
                    (E) an assessment of the benefits of expanding 
                existing, federally supported, regional innovation and 
                manufacturing hubs to include sustainable chemistry and 
                the value of directing the creation of 1 or more 
                dedicated sustainable chemistry centers of excellence 
                or hubs; and
                    (F) an evaluation of steps taken and future 
                strategies to avoid duplication of efforts, streamline 
                interagency coordination, facilitate information 
                sharing, and spread best practices among participating 
                agencies.
            (2) Submission to gao.--The Entity shall also submit the 
        report described in paragraph (1) to the Comptroller General of 
        the United States for consideration in future Congressional 
        inquiries.

SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY.

    (a) In General.--The agencies participating in the Entity shall 
carry out activities in support of sustainable chemistry, as 
appropriate to the specific mission and programs of each agency.
    (b) Activities.--The activities described in subsection (a) shall--
            (1) incorporate sustainable chemistry into existing 
        research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, 
        commercialization, education, and training programs, that the 
        agency determines to be relevant, including consideration of--
                    (A) merit-based competitive grants to individual 
                investigators and teams of investigators, including, to 
                the extent practicable, early career investigators for 
                research and development;
                    (B) grants to fund collaborative research and 
                development partnerships among universities, industry, 
                and nonprofit organizations;
                    (C) coordination of sustainable chemistry research, 
                development, demonstration, and technology transfer 
                conducted at Federal laboratories and agencies;
                    (D) incentive prize competitions and challenges in 
                coordination with such existing Federal agency 
                programs; and
                    (E) grants, loans, and loan guarantees to aid in 
                the technology transfer and commercialization of 
                sustainable chemicals, materials, processes, and 
                products;
            (2) collect and disseminate information on sustainable 
        chemistry research, development, technology transfer, and 
        commercialization, including information on accomplishments and 
        best practices;
            (3) within education and training programs, expand the 
        education and training of undergraduate and graduate students 
        and professional scientists and engineers, and other 
        professionals involved in materials specification in 
        sustainable chemistry and engineering, including through 
        partnerships with industry as described in section 6;
            (4) as relevant to an agency's programs, examine methods by 
        which the Federal agencies, in collaboration and consultation 
        with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, can 
        facilitate the development or recognition of validated, 
        standardized tools for performing sustainability assessments of 
        chemistry processes or products;
            (5) through programs identified by an agency, support 
        (including through technical assistance, participation, 
        financial support, communications tools, awards, or other forms 
        of support) outreach and dissemination of sustainable chemistry 
        advances such as non-Federal symposia, forums, conferences, and 
        publications in collaboration with, as appropriate, industry, 
        academia, scientific and professional societies, and other 
        relevant groups;
            (6) provide for public input and outreach to be integrated 
        into the activities described in this section by the convening 
        of public discussions, through mechanisms such as public 
        meetings, consensus conferences, and educational events, as 
        appropriate;
            (7) within each agency, develop metrics to track the 
        outputs and outcomes of the programs supported by that agency; 
        and
            (8) incentivize or recognize actions that advance 
        sustainable chemistry products, processes, or initiatives, 
        including through the establishment of a nationally recognized 
        awards program through the Environmental Protection Agency to 
        identify, publicize, and celebrate innovations in sustainable 
        chemistry and chemical technologies.
    (c) Limitations.--Financial support provided under this section 
shall--
            (1) be available only for pre-competitive activities; and
            (2) not be used to promote the sale of a specific product, 
        process, or technology, or to disparage a specific product, 
        process, or technology.
    (d) Agency Budget Requests.--
            (1) In general.--Each Federal agency and department 
        participating in the activities described in this section 
        shall, as part of its annual request for appropriations to the 
        Office of Management and Budget, submit a report to the Office 
        of Management and Budget that--
                    (A) identifies the activities of the agency or 
                department that contribute directly to these 
                activities; and
                    (B) estimates the portion of the agency or 
                department's request for appropriations that is 
                intended to be allocated to those activities.
            (2) Annual budget request to congress.--The President shall 
        include in the annual budget request to Congress a statement of 
        the portion of the annual budget request for each agency or 
        department that will be allocated to activities undertaken 
        pursuant to this section.

SEC. 6. PARTNERSHIPS IN SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY.

    (a) In General.--The agencies participating in the Entity may 
facilitate and support, through financial, technical, or other 
assistance, the creation of partnerships between institutions of higher 
education, nongovernmental organizations, consortia, or companies 
across the value chain in the chemical industry, including small- and 
medium-sized enterprises, to--
            (1) create collaborative sustainable chemistry research, 
        development, demonstration, technology transfer, and 
        commercialization programs; and
            (2) train students and retrain professional scientists, 
        engineers, and others involved in materials specification on 
        the use of sustainable chemistry concepts and strategies by 
        methods, including--
                    (A) developing or recognizing curricular materials 
                and courses for undergraduate and graduate levels and 
                for the professional development of scientists, 
                engineers, and others involved in materials 
                specification; and
                    (B) publicizing the availability of professional 
                development courses in sustainable chemistry and 
                recruiting professionals to pursue such courses.
    (b) Private Sector Participation.--To be eligible for support under 
this section, a partnership in sustainable chemistry shall include at 
least one private sector organization.
    (c) Selection of Partnerships.--In selecting partnerships for 
support under this section, the agencies participating in the Entity 
shall also consider the extent to which the applicants are willing and 
able to demonstrate evidence of support for, and commitment to, the 
goals outlined in the roadmap and report described in section 4.
    (d) Prohibited Use of Funds.--Financial support provided under this 
section may not be used--
            (1) to support or expand a regulatory chemical management 
        program at an implementing agency under a State law;
            (2) to construct or renovate a building or structure; or
            (3) to promote the sale of a specific product, process, or 
        technology, or to disparage a specific product, process, or 
        technology.

SEC. 7. PRIORITIZATION.

    In carrying out this Act, the Entity shall focus its support for 
sustainable chemistry activities on those that achieve, to the highest 
extent practicable, the goals outlined in the Act.

SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or amend any State 
law or action with regard to sustainable chemistry or green chemistry, 
as defined by the State.
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