[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2205-H2209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GREEN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2004
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3970) to provide for the implementation of a Green Chemistry
Research and Development Program, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3970
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 ``Green Chemistry Research and
Development Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``green chemistry'' means chemistry and
chemical engineering to design chemical products and
processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of
hazardous substances;
(2) the term ``Interagency Working Group'' means the
interagency working group established under section 3(c); and
(3) the term ``Program'' means the Green Chemistry Research
and Development Program described in section 3.
SEC. 3. GREEN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The President shall establish a Green
Chemistry Research and Development Program to promote and
coordinate Federal green chemistry research, development,
demonstration, education, and technology transfer activities.
(b) Program Activities.--The activities of the Program
shall be designed to--
(1) provide sustained support for green chemistry research,
development, demonstration, education, and technology
transfer through--
(A) merit-reviewed competitive grants to individual
investigators and teams of investigators, including, to the
extent practicable, young investigators, for research and
development;
(B) grants to fund collaborative research and development
partnerships among universities, industry, and nonprofit
organizations;
(C) green chemistry research, development, demonstration,
and technology transfer conducted at Federal laboratories;
and
(D) to the extent practicable, encouragement of
consideration of green chemistry in--
(i) the conduct of Federal chemical science and engineering
research and development; and
(ii) the solicitation and evaluation of all proposals for
chemical science and engineering research and development;
(2) examine methods by which the Federal Government can
create incentives for consideration and use of green
chemistry processes and products;
(3) facilitate the adoption of green chemistry innovations;
(4) expand education and training of undergraduate and
graduate students, and professional chemists and chemical
engineers, including through partnerships with industry, in
green chemistry science and engineering;
(5) collect and disseminate information on green chemistry
research, development, and technology transfer, including
information on--
(A) incentives and impediments to development and
commercialization;
(B) accomplishments;
(C) best practices; and
(D) costs and benefits;
(6) provide venues for outreach and dissemination of green
chemistry advances such as symposia, forums, conferences, and
written materials in collaboration with, as appropriate,
industry, academia, scientific and professional societies,
and other relevant groups;
(7) support economic, legal, and other appropriate social
science research to identify barriers to commercialization
and methods to advance commercialization of green chemistry;
and
[[Page H2206]]
(8) provide for public input and outreach to be integrated
into the Program by the convening of public discussions,
through mechanisms such as citizen panels, consensus
conferences, and educational events, as appropriate.
(c) Interagency Working Group.--The President shall
establish an Interagency Working Group, which shall include
representatives from the National Science Foundation, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, the
Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and any other agency that the President may designate. The
Director of the National Science Foundation and the Assistant
Administrator for Research and Development of the
Environmental Protection Agency shall serve as co-chairs of
the Interagency Working Group. The Interagency Working Group
shall oversee the planning, management, and coordination of
the Program. The Interagency Working Group shall--
(1) establish goals and priorities for the Program, to the
extent practicable in consultation with green chemistry
researchers and potential end-users of green chemistry
products and processes; and
(2) provide for interagency coordination, including budget
coordination, of activities under the Program.
(d) Agency Budget Requests.--Each Federal agency and
department participating in the Program 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 which identifies its activities that contribute
directly to the Program and states the portion of its request
for appropriations that is allocated to those activities. The
President shall include in his annual budget request to
Congress a statement of the portion of each agency's or
department's annual budget request allocated to its
activities undertaken pursuant to the Program.
(e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Working Group
shall transmit a report to the Committee on Science of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate. This report shall
include--
(1) a summary of federally funded green chemistry research,
development, demonstration, education, and technology
transfer activities, including the green chemistry budget for
each of these activities; and
(2) an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the
goals and priorities for the Program, and recommendations for
future program activities.
SEC. 4. BIENNIAL REPORT.
Section 37(a) of the Science and Engineering Equal
Opportunities Act (42 U.S.C. 1885d(a)) is amended by striking
``By January 30, 1982, and biennially thereafter'' and
inserting ``By January 30 of each odd-numbered year''.
SEC. 5. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER GREEN SUPPLIERS
NETWORK GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 25(a) of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) the enabling of supply chain manufacturers to
continuously improve products and processes, increase energy
efficiency, identify cost-saving opportunities, and optimize
resources and technologies with the aim of reducing or
eliminating the use or generation of hazardous substances.''.
SEC. 6. UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING.
(a) Program Authorized.--(1) As part of the Program
activities under section 3(b)(4), the Director of the
National Science Foundation shall carry out a program to
award grants to institutions of higher education to support
efforts by such institutions to revise their undergraduate
curriculum in chemistry and chemical engineering to
incorporate green chemistry concepts and strategies.
(2) Grants shall be awarded under this section on a
competitive, merit-reviewed basis and shall require cost
sharing in cash from non-Federal sources, to match the
Federal funding.
(b) Selection Process.--(1) An institution of higher
education seeking funding under this section shall submit an
application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require. The
application shall include at a minimum--
(A) a description of the content and schedule for adoption
of the proposed curricular revisions to the courses of study
offered by the applicant in chemistry and chemical
engineering; and
(B) a description of the source and amount of cost sharing
to be provided.
(2) In evaluating the applications submitted under
paragraph (1), the Director shall consider, at a minimum--
(A) the level of commitment demonstrated by the applicant
in carrying out and sustaining lasting curriculum changes in
accordance with subsection (a)(1); and
(B) the amount of cost sharing to be provided.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to
amounts authorized under section 8, from sums otherwise
authorized to be appropriated by the National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, there are authorized to
be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for
carrying out this section $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005,
$7,500,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $8,000,000 for fiscal
year 2007.
SEC. 7. STUDY ON COMMERCIALIZATION OF GREEN CHEMISTRY.
(a) Study.--The Director of the National Science Foundation
shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research
Council to conduct a study of the factors that constitute
barriers to the successful commercial application of
promising results from green chemistry research and
development.
(b) Contents.--The study shall--
(1) examine successful and unsuccessful attempts at
commercialization of green chemistry in the United States and
abroad; and
(2) recommend research areas and priorities and public
policy options that would help to overcome identified
barriers to commercialization.
(c) Report.--The Director shall submit a report to the
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate on the findings and recommendations of the study
within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) National Science Foundation.--(1) From sums otherwise
authorized to be appropriated by the National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, there are authorized to
be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for
carrying out this Act--
(A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(B) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
(C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
(2) The sums authorized by paragraph (1) are in addition to
any funds the National Science Foundation is spending on
green chemistry through its ongoing chemistry and chemical
engineering programs.
(b) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--From
sums otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there are
authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of
Standards and Technology for carrying out this Act--
(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(2) $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
(3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
(c) Department of Energy.--From sums otherwise authorized
to be appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated
to the Department of Energy for carrying out this Act--
(1) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
(3) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
(d) Environmental Protection Agency.--From sums otherwise
authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency for
carrying out this Act--
(1) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
(2) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
(3) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).
General Leave
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3970.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from New York (Chairman
Boehlert); the ranking member, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr.
Gordon); the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson); the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), and all of my Committee on
Science colleagues for their hard work in bringing this important
bipartisan piece of legislation through committee and before the House
floor today.
In particular, I would like to thank the ranking member, the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) and the gentlewoman from Texas
(Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and their staffs for continuing to work
with us on this legislation.
The resulting manager's amendment is truly a bipartisan bill. Defined
as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or
eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances, green
chemistry represents an emerging field with much promise.
As a chemistry major trained in traditional chemistry at the Georgia
Institute of Technology, I am very excited about the potential
environmental, economic and human health benefits of green chemistry.
Preventing pollution and waste in the first place is
[[Page H2207]]
often cheaper than mitigating and cleaning it up later, and the
development of new products and processes will help spur economic
growth.
Currently, many chemical processes are conducted at extreme
temperature and/or pressure, two conditions that present a risk for
workers. Also, many chemical processes involve toxic substances. Green
chemistry aims to design processes that can be conducted at or near
room temperature and pressure and that actually use benign materials.
Both of these steps improve working conditions for employees. Yet,
despite all of the promises of green chemistry, the Federal Government
invests very little in this area.
H.R. 3970, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act, will
establish a research and development program to promote and coordinate
Federal green chemistry research, development, demonstration, education
and technology transfer activities within the National Science
Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy.
This legislation provides modest and prudent focus in an area that,
frankly, deserves greater Federal attention. The program will support
research and development grants, including grants for university,
industry, and nonprofit partnerships. It will support green chemistry
research at Federal labs, promote education through curricula
development and fellowships, and collect and disseminate information
about green chemistry.
H.R. 3970 is fiscally prudent in these times of budgetary constraints
by obtaining funding for this program from sums already authorized to
be appropriated at the four agencies I mentioned, and it does not
authorize the expenditure of any new money.
Traditional chemical companies, pharmaceutical companies, carpet and
rug manufacturers and biotechnology corporations, all who we have heard
from in committee hearings, have endorsed H.R. 3970, showing a broad
range of support for the merits of this legislation. They all realize
that the advancement of green chemistry is positive for their
industries, the environment, the economy as a whole, and all of our
Nation's citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentleman from Georgia
(Mr. Gingrey) for putting this issue on the table. I also would like to
thank the gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert) for working with
us to incorporate some of our suggestions into the manager's amendment.
The legislation now includes a grant program to encourage
universities to incorporate green chemistry into undergraduate
curricula in chemistry and chemical engineering. The curriculum changes
encouraged through this program will assure that students are familiar
with green chemistry and ready to enter the workforce with skills in
pollution prevention and green design. The explicit authorization for
research in economics and other relevant social sciences will help us
to better understand the barriers to widespread adoption of the green
chemistry techniques.
H.R. 3970 is a good start. However, we are disappointed that the bill
does not go far enough to move findings in the laboratory into practice
on the factory floor. There are a number of green chemistry success
stories. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Program,
established in 1995, has recognized these achievements. But many other
safer chemical substitutes and pollution prevention techniques are not
widely used.
Research and development alone are not sufficient ingredients to
guarantee the transition to a safer, cleaner environment. And this is
an area where research has been done for a number of years. Programs
and policies to overcome the barriers to more widespread adoption of
green chemistry must be part of a truly comprehensive Federal green
chemistry program.
Democratic amendments on procurement, homeland security, and
technical assistance grants would have created incentives to adopt
green chemistry practices. We hope this bill will continue to expand in
scope as it moves forward in the legislative process.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), who is a cosponsor of this
bill.
Mr. SIMMONS. I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3970, the Green
Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2004. I do so because I am an
advocate of this innovative effort to further scientific research while
minimizing environmental harm.
Last year, I met Dr. Berkeley Cue, Jr., of Ledyard, Connecticut. Dr.
Cue is a recently retired chemist at Pfizer's Global R&D headquarters
in Groton, Connecticut; and he spoke passionately about his work on the
Green Chemistry Institute's Board of Directors and explained to me some
of the exciting prospects that green chemistry holds.
Green chemistry has been defined ``as the utilization of a set of
principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of
hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of
chemical products.''
According to a 1994 pharmaceutical industry process efficiency
analysis, for every kilogram of a given drug produced, between 25 and
100 kilograms of waste are produced. For those processes where there is
a green chemistry application, this number was reduced to between 5 and
10 kilograms of waste per kilogram of product. This is a five- to 10-
time improvement in the reduction of waste products. At commercial
product volumes, this equates to hundreds of thousands of kilograms of
costly waste prevented each year for each product where there is a
green chemistry alternative.
What is more, there is no need to purchase raw materials that are
lost to unwanted by-products. The cost savings are clear, and the
environmental benefits are clear.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure and establish a Green
Chemistry Research and Development Program to promote this technology
at the Federal level. It is good for science, it is good for the
environment, it is good for the American people.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me express my
appreciation for the leadership of this committee. We operate in a
spirit of civility at all times, and we are all very proud of that.
We as legislators preach about how we want to make this world a
better place for those who are to follow. The Green Chemistry Research
and Development Act is a first step to increasing the use of renewable
fuels, encouraging manufacturing processes that generate less toxic
waste and promote the development of materials which can be easily
recycled.
I am pleased that my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Gingrey), has introduced the Green Chemistry Research and Development
Act of 2004, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this
legislation.
Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that
reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in
the design, manufacture, and application of chemical products.
Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in a
fundamental new approach to environmental protection. In studying green
chemistry, we realize that science and technology can help produce
processes and products that are both more environmentally benign and
economically attractive.
I would like also to take this opportunity to thank the Chair for
working in a bipartisan manner and our ranking member, as we often do
in the Committee on Science, for incorporating parts of amendments that
I introduced during markup in the committee. Most importantly, I
appreciate the language that requires a study by the National Academy
of Sciences on barriers to commercialization of green chemistry. As was
evident by the committee's hearing on H.R. 3970, success at
commercialization can be problematic, even for technical innovations
that seem to be obvious candidates for exploitation.
The purpose of the study would be to systematically assess successful
and
[[Page H2208]]
unsuccessful attempts at commercialization of green chemistry
innovations here and abroad and attempt to tease out the controlling
factors.
In addition, I am pleased that the manager's amendment clarifies that
the funds provided by the bill for focused green chemistry research is
in addition to the amounts the agency currently spends in its base
programs. This addition is also very important, and I would like to
thank the Chair for including this in the manager's amendment.
Although there is more work that can be done to strengthen this
legislation, it provides the right impetus to encourage the science and
manufacturing communities to start in the right direction, not only
because green chemistry can save them money now in the short term but
because it can also save our planet in the long term.
{time} 1030
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the honorable chairman of the
House Committee on Science.
(Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3970. And
I want to congratulate our colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Gingrey), for having introduced it. In a short time he has become one
of the most active and effective members of the Committee on Science. I
thank him for his many, many contributions.
There is really only one unfortunate thing about this green chemistry
bill, and that is that none of us thought of it before. Green chemistry
is such an obvious area in which to focus that it should be clear to
anyone and everyone that more needs to be done in this field.
Green chemistry benefits companies and workers, the economy, and the
environment. It is really just the application of an old adage: An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If we reduce to ounces
the quantity of toxic chemicals we use and produce, then we will not
have to clean up pounds of toxics downstream.
And this bill takes a sensible, targeted approach to putting some
Federal dollars behind those prevention efforts. It builds on existing
programs at a number of Federal agencies to transform those small and
scattered efforts into a focused, a coordinated, and an enhanced
national program. The result of that program should be the generation
and dissemination of new ideas and new people, leading to the adoption
of more green chemistry practices and the creation of more green
chemistry products by industry.
Now, I know some would like this bill to go further, and there is no
doubt that there are additional barriers to green chemistry that
government action could help attack, but those government actions are
complex and controversial and should be taken up in other bills.
For now let us take care of first things first. Let us make sure that
the government is doing everything possible to ensure that green
chemistry research and development is getting the attention it deserves
to ensure that education programs are designed to teach more students
and practicing chemists and chemical engineers about green chemistry,
and to ensure that new ideas are broadly disseminated.
If we do not have the ideas and the people, then no amount of
government incentives or regulations are going to accelerate the
adoption of green chemistry. This is a good and thoughtful and
effective bill that takes a step we should have taken long ago to make
sure that government R&D and education programs promote the kind of
chemistry that is in the national interest.
I urge everyone to support the excellent bill of the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey). It is a most appropriate way to recognize Earth
Day which occurs tomorrow.
Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, we have no other comments, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Smith), distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on
Research.
Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), and I certainly commend the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Gordon), the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice
Johnson), the chairman of the committee, (Mr. Boehlert).
As we expand in population in this home that we call Earth, being
more sensitive to the environment is continually a greater challenge
and a greater need. So I commend the legislation. The legislation is
going to be good for the economy. It is going to be good for improving
worker safety. It is going to be good for improving public safety, for
national security, and certainly it is going to be better for our
environmental needs.
We need to expand our thinking not only for chemistry, but maybe for
all of the research that we do to be more sensitive to make sure that
this Earth continues to be as safe and beautiful for future generations
as it has been for us. So I urge my colleagues to support Dr. Gingrey's
bill.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, while the full potential of green chemistry is yet to be
realized, H.R. 3970 will place us, as the chairman just said, on the
right path to research in reaching that potential. I urge all of my
colleagues to support the bipartisan Green Chemistry Research and
Development Act.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished chairman of the
Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards, the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, back in 1974 I ran for public office on an
environmental platform. I have been an environmentalist for many years,
and I have always tried to keep the environment in the forefront in
discussions in this Congress. I am also, however, what you might call a
common-sense environmentalist. I believe in environmental issues and
environmental choices that make sense both for the environment and for
the economy. And this bill is a sterling example of precisely what is
involved in common-sense environmentalism.
The chemical industry makes and uses a great many chemicals. Disposal
of those chemicals often becomes disposal of hazardous waste, which is
very costly, very toxic and dangerous to the environment. This bill
will help develop green chemistry, chemistry that is in tune with the
environment so that both the products and the by-products are safe, and
we do not generate as much or any hazardous waste, and we do not have
to worry about toxic waste polluting the groundwater.
Much work is required in this area both to change the habits of the
educational institutions and the habits of the chemical industry. They
have to be made aware of the many opportunities for green chemistry.
And this is true also of the businesses that use chemical products. For
example, it appears now that liquid carbon dioxide at the critical
point is an outstanding cleaning fluid, certainly nontoxic, and would
solve the pollution problem that many launderers and cleaners face in
this country.
I strongly support this bill. It supports research to develop more
green chemistry processes and includes provisions to expand green
chemistry education. This will enable the next generation of chemical
professionals to bring innovative practices to traditional chemical
manufacturing. I am most pleased to support the Green Chemistry
Research and Development Act.
Again, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) and the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) for their hard work
on this important piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support
H.R. 3970, a bill that will truly clean up the environment and at the
same time aid the economy.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bass). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3970, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
[[Page H2209]]
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________