Environmental Excellence Recognition Act of 1993

Summary: Environmental Excellence Recognition Act of 1993 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to establish the President's Total Environmental Quality Award. 
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish a process for the acceptance and evaluation of Award applicants using, to the extent practicable, the same procedures and facilities provided for the Malcolm Baldrige Award.  Directs the President, based on the Secretary's recommendations, to periodically select companies and other organizations which have benefited the United States through the development and deployment of environmental technologies for receipt of the Award. 
Establishes a National Environmentally Sound Technology Award for individuals who have pioneered the development and use of a highly innovative environmental technology.  Directs the Secretary to receive and evaluate applications for, and provide for presentation of, the Award.  Makes U.S. citizens or permanent residents eligible for the Award.  Permits up to five of such Awards to be presented annually.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Environmental Excellence Recognition 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PRESIDENT'S TOTAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AWARD AND THE NATIONAL 
              ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGY AWARD.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Award programs such as the Malcolm Baldrige National 
        Quality Award Program have made substantial contributions to 
        private enterprise by providing a framework upon which 
        organizations can improve their operations and by focusing on 
        issues important to their competitiveness.
            (2) A President's Total Environmental Quality Award Program 
        modeled on the Malcolm Baldrige Award Program would contribute 
        to environmental quality and sustainable economic development 
        by--
                    (A) helping to stimulate United States companies to 
                develop and deploy environmental technologies;
                    (B) recognizing the achievements of such companies 
                which successfully develop and deploy environmental 
                technologies; and
                    (C) establishing guidelines and criteria that can 
                be used by business, industrial, governmental, and 
                other organizations in evaluating their own development 
                and deployment of environmental technologies.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to provide for the 
establishment and conduct of a President's Total Environmental Quality 
Award Program and a National Environmentally Sound Technology Award 
Program under which awards are given to recognize the successful 
development and deployment of environmental technologies and under 
which information is disseminated about such success.
    (c) Establishment of Awards.--The Stevenson-Wydler Technology 
Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 23 the following new sections:

``SEC. 24. PRESIDENT'S TOTAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AWARD.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the President's 
Total Environmental Quality Award (in this section referred to as the 
`Award').
    ``(b) Design.--The Award shall be evidenced by a medal bearing the 
inscription `President's Total Environmental Quality Award'.
    ``(c) Award Selection Process.--The Secretary, in cooperation with 
the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, shall establish a process for the acceptance and 
evaluation of Award applicants. The Secretary shall, to the maximum 
extent practicable, use the same procedures and facilities provided for 
the administration of the Malcolm Baldrige Award, including the 
definition of award categories, the delegation of responsibilities, and 
provisions for publicity, evaluation feed-back, and information 
transfer.
    ``(d) Presentation of award.--
            ``(1) Recommendations by secretary.--The Secretary shall 
        submit to the President the recommendations of the Secretary 
        for the selection of Award applicants.
            ``(2) Selection by the president.--On the basis of 
        recommendations received under paragraph (1), the President 
        shall periodically select for receipt of the Award United 
        States companies and other organizations which in the judgment 
        of the President have substantially benefited the 
        environmental, economic, and social well-being of the United 
        States through the development and deployment of environmental 
        technologies, and which as a consequence are deserving of 
        special recognition.
            ``(3) Presentation ceremony.--The President or the Vice 
        President shall present the Award to recipients selected under 
        paragraph (2) with such ceremony as the President or the Vice 
        President considers to be appropriate.
    ``(e) Limitation.--The information gathered in evaluating Award 
applications may be used only for the evaluation of such applications 
and for publicity by winners of the Award. Such information may not be 
used for regulatory or compliance purposes.
    ``(f) Evaluation Criteria.--Criteria for evaluating Award 
applications shall include the following:
            ``(1) The effectiveness of the organization's development 
        and deployment of environmental technologies, as well as the 
        organization's provision for environmental technologies in its 
        future plans.
            ``(2) The effectiveness of energy and materials use from 
        the perspective of the life cycle of the production, use, 
        recycle, and disposal of a product.
            ``(3) The effective use of an integrated approach to 
        pollution prevention and control that considers all 
        environmental media (liquid, solid, gaseous).
    ``(g) Funding.--The Secretary may seek and accept gifts from public 
and private sources to carry out this section. The Secretary may 
provide for the imposition of a fee upon the organizations applying for 
the Award.
    ``(h) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the President and 
the Congress a report on the progress made in carrying out this 
section. The report shall include any recommendations of the Secretary 
for any modifications of the Award the Secretary considers necessary.

``SEC. 25. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGY AWARD.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established a National 
Environmentally Sound Technology Award for the purpose of awarding 
individuals who have pioneered the development and use of a highly 
innovative environmental technology.
    ``(b) Administration.--Using the authority and procedures 
established in section 24 and subject to the conditions described in 
this section, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Energy, shall 
receive and evaluate applications for the National Environmentally 
Sound Technology Award and provide for presentation of such Award.
    ``(c) Qualified Technologies.--Technologies that qualify for such 
Award shall include following:
            ``(1) Manufacturing technologies.
            ``(2) Industrial or consumer products.
            ``(3) Consumer services.
            ``(4) Recycling technologies.
    ``(d) Qualified Applicants.--Any citizen or permanent resident of 
the Unites States may qualify for such Award. Any such individual who 
is employed by or otherwise works for a business, Federal laboratory, 
or other organization may qualify for such Award only if the individual 
was substantially involved in the invention or innovation for which 
such Award is presented.
    ``(e) Limitation.--Not more than five such Awards may be presented 
annually.
    ``(f) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`environmental technology' means--
            ``(1) a technology that is primarily intended to improve 
        the quality of the environment through pollution reduction or 
        remediation;
            ``(2) a product, manufacturing process, or service that is 
        capable of cost-effectively replacing the functions of an 
        existing product, process, or service, and as compared with the 
        product, process, or service it replaces, significantly 
        reducing overall pollution or significantly improving the 
        efficiency of energy or materials use; or
            ``(3) a technology within the meaning of paragraphs (1) and 
        (2).''.