Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2051 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 10, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To provide for Federal coordination of activities supporting sustainable chemistry, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 2051 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Chemistry 2 Research and Development Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that— 5 (1) Congress recognized the importance and 6 value of sustainable chemistry and the role of the 7 Federal Government in section 114 of the American 8 Innovation and Competitiveness Act (Public Law 9 114–329); 10 (2) sustainable chemistry and materials trans- 11 formation is a key value contributor to business 12 competitiveness across many industrial and con- 13 sumer sectors; 14 (3) companies across hundreds of supply chains 15 critical to the American economy are seeking to re- 16 duce costs and open new markets through innova- 17 tions in manufacturing and materials, and are in 18 need of new innovations in chemistry, including sus- 19 tainable chemistry; 20 (4) sustainable chemistry can improve the effi- 21 ciency with which natural resources are used to meet 22 human needs for chemical products while avoiding 23 environmental harm, reduce or eliminate the emis- 24 sions of and exposures to hazardous substances, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 2051 RFS minimize the use of resources, and benefit the econ- 1 omy, people, and the environment; and 2 (5) a recent report by the Government Account- 3 ability Office (GAO–18–307) found that the Federal 4 Government could play an important role in helping 5 realize the full innovation and market potential of 6 sustainable chemistry technologies, including 7 through a coordinated national effort on sustainable 8 chemistry and standardized tools and definitions to 9 support sustainable chemistry research, development, 10 demonstration, and commercialization. 11 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATING ENTITY FOR SUSTAIN- 12 ABLE CHEMISTRY. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of- 15 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall convene an 16 interagency entity (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Entity’’) 17 under the National Science and Technology Council with 18 the responsibility to coordinate Federal programs and ac- 19 tivities in support of sustainable chemistry, including 20 those described in sections 5 and 6. 21 (b) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING GROUPS.—In 22 convening the Entity, the Director of the Office of Science 23 and Technology Policy shall consider overlap and possible 24 coordination with existing committees, subcommittees, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 2051 RFS other groups of the National Science and Technology 1 Council, such as— 2 (1) the Committee on Environment; 3 (2) the Committee on Technology; 4 (3) the Committee on Science; or 5 (4) related groups or subcommittees. 6 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Entity shall be co-chaired by 7 the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a rep- 8 resentative from the Environmental Protection Agency, 9 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the 10 National Science Foundation, or the Department of En- 11 ergy, as selected by the Director of the Office of Science 12 and Technology Policy. 13 (d) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The Entity shall in- 14 clude representatives, including subject matter experts, 15 from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 16 Institute of Standards and Technology, the National 17 Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the De- 18 partment of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the 19 National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 20 Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administra- 21 tion, the Office of Management and Budget, and other re- 22 lated Federal agencies, as appropriate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 2051 RFS (e) TERMINATION.—The Entity shall terminate on 1 the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of 2 this Act. 3 SEC. 4. ROADMAP FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 4 (a) ROADMAP.—Not later than 2 years after the date 5 of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall— 6 (1) consult with relevant stakeholders including 7 representatives from industry, academia, the Federal 8 Government, and international entities to develop 9 and update as needed a consensus definition of ‘‘sus- 10 tainable chemistry’’ to guide the activities under this 11 Act; 12 (2) develop a working framework of attributes 13 characterizing and metrics for assessing sustainable 14 chemistry, as described in subsection (b); 15 (3) assess the state of sustainable chemistry in 16 the United States as a key benchmark from which 17 progress under the activities described in this Act 18 can be measured, including assessing key sectors of 19 the United States economy, key technology plat- 20 forms, commercial priorities, and barriers to innova- 21 tion; 22 (4) coordinate and support Federal research, 23 development, demonstration, technology transfer, 24 commercialization, education, and training efforts in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 2051 RFS sustainable chemistry, including budget coordination 1 and support for public-private partnerships, as ap- 2 propriate; 3 (5) identify methods by which the Federal 4 agencies can facilitate the development of incentives 5 for development, consideration and use of sustain- 6 able chemistry processes and products, including in- 7 novative financing mechanisms; 8 (6) identify major scientific challenges, road- 9 blocks, or hurdles to transformational progress in 10 improving the sustainability of the chemical sciences; 11 and 12 (7) identify other opportunities for expanding 13 Federal efforts in support of sustainable chemistry. 14 (b) CHARACTERIZING AND ASSESSING SUSTAINABLE 15 CHEMISTRY.—The Entity shall develop a working frame- 16 work of attributes characterizing and metrics for assessing 17 sustainable chemistry for the purposes of carrying out the 18 Act. In developing this framework, the Entity shall— 19 (1) seek advice and input from stakeholders as 20 described in subsection (c); 21 (2) consider existing definitions of or frame- 22 works characterizing and metrics for assessing sus- 23 tainable chemistry already in use at Federal agen- 24 cies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 2051 RFS (3) consider existing definitions of or frame- 1 works characterizing and metrics for assessing sus- 2 tainable chemistry already in use by international 3 organizations of which the United States is a mem- 4 ber, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-oper- 5 ation and Development; and 6 (4) consider any other appropriate existing defi- 7 nitions of or frameworks characterizing and metrics 8 for assessing sustainable chemistry. 9 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties de- 10 scribed in subsections (a) and (b), the Entity shall consult 11 with stakeholders qualified to provide advice and informa- 12 tion to guide Federal activities related to sustainable 13 chemistry through workshops, requests for information, 14 and other mechanisms as necessary. The stakeholders 15 shall include representatives from— 16 (1) business and industry (including trade asso- 17 ciations and small- and medium-sized enterprises 18 from across the value chain); 19 (2) the scientific community (including the Na- 20 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med- 21 icine, scientific professional societies, and academia); 22 (3) the defense community; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 2051 RFS (4) State, tribal, and local governments, includ- 1 ing nonregulatory State or regional sustainable 2 chemistry programs, as appropriate; 3 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 4 (6) other appropriate organizations. 5 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall 8 submit a report to the Committee on Environment 9 and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, 10 Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on 11 Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on 12 Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 13 Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ap- 14 propriations of the House of Representatives. In ad- 15 dition to the elements described in subsections (a) 16 and (b), the report shall include— 17 (A) a summary of federally funded, sus- 18 tainable chemistry research, development, dem- 19 onstration, technology transfer, commercializa- 20 tion, education, and training activities; 21 (B) a summary of the financial resources 22 allocated to sustainable chemistry initiatives; 23 (C) an assessment of the current state of 24 sustainable chemistry in the United States, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 2051 RFS cluding the role that Federal agencies are play- 1 ing in supporting it; 2 (D) an analysis of the progress made to- 3 ward achieving the goals and priorities of this 4 Act, and recommendations for future program 5 activities; 6 (E) an assessment of the benefits of ex- 7 panding existing, federally supported, regional 8 innovation and manufacturing hubs, centers, 9 and institutes to include sustainable chemistry 10 and the value of directing the creation of one or 11 more dedicated sustainable chemistry centers of 12 excellence, hubs, or institutes; and 13 (F) an evaluation of steps taken and fu- 14 ture strategies to avoid duplication of efforts, 15 streamline interagency coordination, facilitate 16 information sharing, and spread best practices 17 among participating agencies. 18 (2) SUBMISSION TO GAO.—The Entity shall 19 also submit the report described in paragraph (1) to 20 the Comptroller General of the United States for 21 consideration in future Congressional inquiries. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 2051 RFS SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE 1 CHEMISTRY. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agencies participating in the 3 Entity shall carry out activities in support of sustainable 4 chemistry, as appropriate to the specific mission and pro- 5 grams of each agency. 6 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities described in sub- 7 section (a) shall— 8 (1) incorporate sustainable chemistry into exist- 9 ing research, development, demonstration, tech- 10 nology transfer, commercialization, education, and 11 training programs, that the agency determines to be 12 relevant, including consideration of— 13 (A) merit-based competitive grants to indi- 14 vidual investigators and teams of investigators, 15 including, to the extent practicable, early career 16 investigators for research and development; 17 (B) grants to fund collaborative research 18 and development partnerships among univer- 19 sities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; 20 (C) coordination of sustainable chemistry 21 research, development, demonstration, and tech- 22 nology transfer conducted at Federal labora- 23 tories and agencies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 2051 RFS (D) incentive prize competitions and chal- 1 lenges in coordination with such existing Fed- 2 eral agency programs; and 3 (E) grants, loans, and loan guarantees to 4 aid in the technology transfer and commer- 5 cialization of sustainable chemicals, materials, 6 processes, and products; 7 (2) collect and disseminate information on sus- 8 tainable chemistry research, development, technology 9 transfer, and commercialization, including informa- 10 tion on accomplishments and best practices; 11 (3) raise awareness of sustainable chemistry 12 concepts through public outreach activities; 13 (4) expand the education and training of stu- 14 dents at all levels of education, professional sci- 15 entists and engineers, and other professionals in- 16 volved in all aspects of sustainable chemistry and en- 17 gineering appropriate to that level of education and 18 training, including through— 19 (A) partnerships with industry as de- 20 scribed in section 6; 21 (B) support for the integration of sustain- 22 able chemistry principles into elementary, sec- 23 ondary, undergraduate, and graduate chemistry 24 and chemical engineering curriculum and re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2051.RFS H2051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 2051 RFS search training, as appropriate to that level of 1 education and training; and 2 (C) support for integration of sustainable 3 chemistry principles into existing or new profes- 4 sional development opportunities for profes- 5 sionals including teachers, faculty, and individ- 6 uals involved in laboratory research, (product 7 development, materials specification and test- 8 ing, life cycle analysis, and management); 9 (5) as relevant to an agency’s programs, exam- 10 ine methods by which the Federal agencies, in col- 11 laboration and consultation with the National Insti- 12 tute of Standards and Technology, may facilitate the 13 development or recognition of validated, standard- 14 ized tools for performing sustainability assessments 15 of chemistry processes or products; 16 (6) through programs identified by an agency, 17 support (including through technical assistance, par- 18 ticipation, financial support, communications tools, 19 awards, or other forms of support) outreach and dis- 20 semination of sustainable chemistry advances such 21 as non-Federal symposia, [Text truncated for display. 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