[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E407-E408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE GREEN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PHIL GINGREY

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce an important 
piece of legislation, H.R. 1215, ``The Green Chemistry Research and 
Development Act of 2005.'' When I introduced this legislation during 
the 108th Congress as H.R. 3970, many of my colleagues wondered, what 
is green chemistry? So again I will start with a brief explanation. 
Chemical manufacturing is the source of many products upon which we 
depend such as medicines, plastics, fuels, and fabrics. However, 
chemical manufacturing has at times resulted in harm to the environment 
and human health. The goal of green chemistry is to minimize or, 
ideally, to eliminate this potential harm. It is defined as chemistry 
and chemical engineering that designs chemical products and processes 
that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances 
while producing high quality products through a safe and effective 
manufacturing process. By factoring the elimination of hazardous 
byproducts into the design of products and processes, chemists can 
design chemicals to be safe, just as they can design them to have other 
properties, such as color or texture.
  Many private sector industries have recognized the potential of green 
chemistry. Along with its inherent human health and environmental 
advantages, green chemistry can offer many economic advantages. Since 
the costs of separating waste from products, complying with 
regulations, disposing of hazardous wastes and liability protection can 
be large, preventing pollution and waste in the first place is often 
cheaper than mitigating and cleaning it up later.
  In my home state of Georgia, Shaw Industries, Inc. is showing 
tremendous returns on their investment in green chemistry. Shaw 
produces carpet tile from their EcoWorxTM compound, which is 
made from non-toxic starting materials. The carpet tiles are fully 
recyclable, and Shaw has started to receive the first generation of 
carpet tiles, introduced in 1999, back in the factory for recycling. 
Shaw has found that the cost of collection, transportation, and 
recycling is less than making new carpet tiles from virgin raw 
materials. Even before Shaw recycled a single carpet tile, they 
benefited from their investment in green manufacturing. By switching 
from traditional carpet tile backing to EcoWorx TM, Shaw cut 
the energy needed to produce carpet tiles in half.
  Green chemistry offers other advantages in the areas of worker safety 
and public safety. For example, 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 use benign 
materials. Both of these steps improve working conditions for 
employees. Chemical factories also pose a potential threat to public 
safety because of the possibility of an accidental release of 
toxic materials into the surrounding communities. Green chemistry seeks 
to replace these toxic substances with safe ones, which would not pose 
a threat to the public if accidentally released.

  Yet despite all of the promise of green chemistry, the Federal 
government invests very little in this area. The most notable effort is 
a small grant program run jointly by the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Green chemistry 
research in this program is funded at about $4 million per year. The 
Department of Energy (DOE) and National Institute for Standards and 
Technology (NIST) also do a small amount of green chemistry research, 
however the Federal investment in green chemistry is minimal as 
compared to the overall investment in chemistry. In addition, each of 
these agencies has an important role to play in developing green 
chemistry technologies and facilitating their adoption, however, right 
now, there is little coordination among agencies.

[[Page E408]]

  The Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2005 establishes 
an interagency research and development (R&D) program to promote and 
coordinate Federal green chemistry research, development, 
demonstration, education and technology transfer activities. The 
Program would support R&D grants, including grants for university-
industry partnerships, support green chemistry research at Federal 
labs, promote education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and 
collect and disseminate information about green chemistry. NSF and EPA 
would lead an Interagency Working Group to coordinate these activities. 
The Working Group would also include DOE and NIST, as well as any other 
agency the President designates. The program is authorized at $33 
million in FY06 rising to $38 million in FY08 from sums otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated. This bill does not authorize the 
expenditure of new money.
  This bill provides modest and prudent funding in an area that 
deserves greater Federal attention. During the 108th Congress, H.R. 
3970 passed the House on April 21, 2004 with a strong bipartisan vote 
of 402-14. I expect similar support this Congress in the House and am 
pleased to report that Senator Snowe and Senator Rockefeller plan on 
introducing identical legislation in the Senate very soon. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues in the House and the Senate, as 
well as with the Administration, and all other interested stakeholders 
to enact this important legislation.

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