[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 137 (Tuesday, September 27, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 27, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   VEGETABLE INK PRINTING ACT OF 1994

  Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the 
Senate a message from the House of Representatives on a bill (S. 716) 
to require that all Federal lithographic printing be performed using 
ink made from vegetable oil, and for other purposes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 716) entitled 
     ``An Act to require that all Federal lithographic printing be 
     performed using ink made from vegetable oil and materials 
     derived from other renewable resources, and for other 
     purposes'', do pass with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Vegetable Ink Printing Act 
     of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
       (1) More than 95 percent of Federal printing involving 
     documents or publications is performed using lithographic 
     inks.
       (2) Various types of oil, including petroleum and vegetable 
     oil, are used in lithographic ink.
       (3) Increasing the amount of vegetable oil used in a 
     lithographic ink would--
       (A) help reduce the Nation's use of nonrenewable energy 
     resources;
       (B) result in the use of products that are less damaging to 
     the environment;
       (C) result in a reduction of volatile organic compound 
     emissions; and
       (D) increase the use of renewable agricultural products.
       (4) The technology exists to use vegetable oil in 
     lithographic ink and, in some applications, to use 
     lithographic ink that uses no petroleum distillates in the 
     liquid portion of the ink.
       (5) Some lithographic inks have contained vegetable oils 
     for many years; other lithographic inks have more recently 
     begun to use vegetable oil.
       (6) According to the Government Printing Office, using 
     vegetable oil-based ink appears to add little if any 
     additional cost to Government printing.
       (7) Use of vegetable oil-based ink in Federal Government 
     printing should further develop--
       (A) the commercial viability of vegetable oil-based ink, 
     which could result in demand, for domestic use alone, for 
     2,500,000,000 pounds of vegetable crops or 500,000,000 pounds 
     of vegetable oil; and
       (B) a product that could help the United States retain or 
     enlarge its share of the world market for vegetable oil-ink.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to require that 
     all lithographic printing using ink containing oil that is 
     performed or procured by a Federal agency shall use ink 
     containing the maximum amounts of vegetable oil and materials 
     derived from other renewable resources that--
       (1) are technologically feasible, and
       (2) result in printing costs that are competitive with 
     printing using petroleum-based inks.

     SEC. 3. FEDERAL PRINTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) General Rule.--Notwithstanding any other law, and 
     except as provided in subsection (b), a Federal agency may 
     not perform or procure lithographic printing that uses ink 
     containing oil if the ink contains less than the following 
     percentage of vegetable oil:
       (1) In the case of news ink, 40 percent.
       (2) In the case of sheet-fed ink, 20 percent.
       (3) In the case of forms ink, 20 percent.
       (4) In the case of heat-set ink, 10 percent.
       (b) Exceptions.--
       (1) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
     lithographic printing performed or procured by a Federal 
     agency, if--
       (A) the head of the agency determines, after consultation 
     with the Public Printer and within the 3-year period ending 
     on the date of the commencement of the printing or the date 
     of that procurement, respectively, that vegetable oil-based 
     ink is not suitable to meet specific, identified requirements 
     of the agency related to the printing; or
       (B) the Public Printer determines--
       (i) within the 3-month period ending on the date of the 
     commencement of the printing, in the case of printing of 
     materials that are printed at intervals of less than 6 
     months, or
       (ii) before the date of the commencement of the printing, 
     in the case of printing of materials that are printed at 
     intervals of 6 months or more;
       that the cost of performing the printing using vegetable 
     oil-based ink is significantly greater than the cost of 
     performing the printing using other available ink.
       (2) Notice to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
     making a determination under paragraph (1)(A), the head of a 
     Federal agency shall report the determination to the 
     Committee on Government Operations and the Committee on House 
     Administration of the House of Representatives, and the 
     Committee on Rules of the Senate.
       (c) Federal Agency Defined.--In this Act, the term 
     ``Federal agency'' means--
       (1) an executive department, military department, 
     Government corporation, Government-controlled corporation, or 
     other establishment in the executive branch of the Government 
     (including the Executive Office of the President), or any 
     independent regulatory agency; and
       (2) an establishment or component of the legislative or 
     judicial branch of the Government.
  Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, I move that the Senate concur in the 
amendment of the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion of 
the Senator from Ohio.
  The motion was agreed to.

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