S 2669
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2669
To provide for the implementation of a Green Chemistry Research
and Development Program, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 26, 2008
Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. PRYOR, Ms. COLLINS, and
Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To provide for the implementation of a Green Chemistry Research
and Development Program, 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 `Green Chemistry Research and Development
Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(1) GREEN CHEMISTRY- 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
while producing high quality products through safe and efficient manufacturing
processes;
(2) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP- The term `Interagency Working Group'
means the interagency working group established under section 3(c);
and
(3) PROGRAM- 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, 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,
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, 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;
(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
(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 and Technology 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. 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, increase recycling,
identify cost-saving opportunities, and optimize resources and technologies
with the aim of reducing or eliminating the use or generation of hazardous
substances.'.
SEC. 5. UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.
(1) IN GENERAL- 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) AWARD OF GRANTS- 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.
(1) APPLICATION- An institution of higher education seeking funding
under this section shall submit an application to the Director of
the National Science Foundation at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require. Minority
serving institutions shall receive due consideration for such funding.
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) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS- 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 2009, $7,500,000
for fiscal year 2010, and $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
SEC. 6. 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
and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the findings
and recommendations of the study conducted under subsection (a) within
18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. PARTNERSHIPS IN GREEN CHEMISTRY.
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS- The agencies participating in the
Program shall carry out a joint, coordinated program to award grants
to institutions of higher education to establish partnerships with
companies in the chemical industry to retrain chemists and chemical
engineers in the use of green chemistry concepts and strategies.
(2) AWARD OF GRANTS- Grants shall be awarded under this section on
a competitive, merit-reviewed basis and shall require cost sharing
from non-Federal sources by members of the partnerships.
(3) ELIGIBILITY- In order to be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an institution of higher education shall enter into
a partnership with two or more companies in the chemical industry.
Such partnerships may also include other institutions of higher education
and professional associations.
(4) USE OF GRANTS- Grants awarded under this section shall be used
for activities to provide retraining for chemists or chemical engineers
in green chemistry, including--
(A) the development of curricular materials and the designing of
undergraduate and graduate level courses; and
(B) publicizing the availability of professional development courses
of study in green chemistry and recruiting graduate scientists and
engineers to pursue such courses.
Grants may provide stipends for individuals enrolled in courses developed
by the partnership.
(1) IN GENERAL- An institution of higher education seeking funding
under this section shall submit an application at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as shall be specified by the
Interagency Working Group and published in a proposal solicitation
for the Program. The application shall include at a minimum--
(A) a description of the partnership and the role each member will
play in implementing the proposal;
(B) a description of the courses of study that will be provided;
(C) a description of the number and size of stipends, if offered;
(D) a description of the source and amount of cost sharing to be
provided; and
(E) a description of the manner in which the partnership will be
continued after assistance under this section ends.
(2) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS- The evaluation of the applications
submitted under paragraph (1) shall be carried out in accordance with
procedures developed by the Interagency Working Group and shall consider,
at a minimum--
(A) the ability of the partnership to carry out effectively the
proposed activities;
(B) the degree to which such activities are likely to prepare chemists
and chemical engineers sufficiently to be competent to apply green
chemistry concepts and strategies in their work; and
(C) the amount of cost sharing to be provided.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) National Science Foundation- There are authorized to be appropriated
to the National Science Foundation to carry out the provisions of this
Act--
(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(2) $21,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(3) $22,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
(b) National Institute of Standards and Technology- There are authorized
to be appropriated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology
to carry out the provisions of this Act--
(1) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(2) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(3) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
(c) Department of Energy- There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Department of Energy to carry out the provisions of this Act--
(1) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(2) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
(d) Environmental Protection Agency- There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out the provisions of
this Act--
(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(3) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
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