II 

Calendar No. 513 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 999 

[Report No. 116–251] 

To provide for Federal coordination of activities supporting sustainable 

chemistry, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. CAPITO, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

AUGUST 12, 2020 

Reported by Mr. WICKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide for Federal coordination of activities supporting 

sustainable chemistry, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Chemistry 

5 Research and Development Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) Congress recognized the importance and 

4 value of sustainable chemistry and the role of the 

5 Federal Government in section 114 of the American 

6 Innovation and Competitiveness Act (Public Law 

7 114–329); 

8 (2) sustainable chemistry and materials trans9 formation is a key value contributor to business 

10 competitiveness across many industrial and con11 sumer sectors; 

12 (3) companies across hundreds of supply chains 

13 critical to the American economy are seeking to re14 duce costs and open new markets through innova15 tions in manufacturing and materials, and are in 

16 need of new innovations in chemistry, including sus17 tainable chemistry; 

18 (4) sustainable chemistry can improve the effi19 ciency with which natural resources are used to meet 

20 human needs for chemical products while avoiding 

21 environmental harm, reduce or eliminate the emis22 sions of and exposures to hazardous substances, 

23 minimize the use of resources, and benefit the econ24 omy, people, and the environment; and 

25 (5) a recent report by the Government Account26 ability Office (GAO–18–307) found that the Federal 


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1 Government could play an important role in helping 

2 realize the full innovation and market potential of 

3 sustainable chemistry technologies, including 

4 through a coordinated national effort on sustainable 

5 chemistry and standardized tools and definitions to 

6 support sustainable chemistry research, development, 

7 demonstration, and commercialization. 

8 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATING ENTITY FOR SUSTAIN9 ABLE CHEMISTRY. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of12 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall convene an 

13 interagency entity (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Entity’’) 

14 under the National Science and Technology Council with 

15 the responsibility to coordinate Federal programs and ac16 tivities in support of sustainable chemistry, including 

17 those described in sections 5 and 6. 

18 (b) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING GROUPS.—In 

19 convening the Entity, the Director of the Office of Science 

20 and Technology Policy shall consider overlap and possible 

21 coordination with existing committees, subcommittees, or 

22 other groups of the National Science and Technology 

23 Council, such as— 

24 (1) the Committee on Environment, Natural 

25 Resources, and Sustainability; 


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1 (2) the Committee on Technology; 

2 (3) the Committee on Science; or 

3 (4) related groups or subcommittees. 

4 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Entity shall be co-chaired by 

5 representatives from the Environmental Protection Agen6 cy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

7 and the National Science Foundation. 

8 (d) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The Entity shall in9 clude representatives, including subject matter experts, 

10 from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 

11 Institute of Standards and Technology, the National 

12 Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the De13 partment of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the 

14 National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administra16 tion, and other related Federal agencies, as appropriate. 

17 SEC. 4. ROADMAP FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 

18 (a) ROADMAP.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall— 

20 (1) develop a working framework of attributes 

21 characterizing sustainable chemistry, as described in 

22 subsection (b); 

23 (2) assess the state of sustainable chemistry in 

24 the United States as a key benchmark from which 

25 progress under the activities described in this Act 


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1 can be measured, including assessing key sectors of 

2 the United States economy, key technology plat3 forms, and barriers to innovation; 

4 (3) coordinate and support Federal research, 

5 development, demonstration, technology transfer, 

6 commercialization, education, and training efforts in 

7 sustainable chemistry, including budget coordination 

8 and support for public-private partnerships, as ap9 propriate; 

10 (4) identify methods by which the Federal 

11 agencies can facilitate the development of incentives 

12 for development, consideration and use of sustain13 able chemistry processes and products, including in14 novative financing mechanisms; 

15 (5) identify major scientific challenges, road16 blocks, or hurdles to transformational progress in 

17 improving the sustainability of the chemical sciences; 

18 and 

19 (6) identify other opportunities for expanding 

20 Federal efforts in support of sustainable chemistry. 

21 (b) ATTRIBUTES CHARACTERIZING SUSTAINABLE

22 CHEMISTRY.—The Entity shall develop a working frame23 work of attributes characterizing sustainable chemistry for 

24 the purposes of carrying out the Act. In developing this 

25 framework, the Entity shall— 


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1 (1) seek advice and input from stakeholders as 

2 described in subsection (c); 

3 (2) consider existing definitions of or frame4 works characterizing sustainable or green chemistry 

5 already in use at Federal agencies; 

6 (3) consider existing definitions of or frame7 works characterizing sustainable or green chemistry 

8 already in use by international organizations of 

9 which the United States is a member, such as the 

10 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel11 opment; and 

12 (4) consider any other appropriate existing defi13 nitions of or frameworks characterizing sustainable 

14 or green chemistry. 

15 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties de16 scribed in subsections (a) and (b), the Entity shall consult 

17 and coordinate with stakeholders qualified to provide ad18 vice and information to guide Federal activities related to 

19 sustainable chemistry through workshops, requests for in20 formation, and other mechanisms as necessary. The stake21 holders shall include representatives from— 

22 (1) business and industry (including trade asso23 ciations and small- and medium-sized enterprises 

24 from across the value chain); 


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1 (2) the scientific community (including the Na2 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Med3 icine, scientific professional societies, and academia); 

4 (3) the defense community; 

5 (4) State, tribal, and local governments, includ6 ing nonregulatory State or regional sustainable 

7 chemistry programs, as appropriate; 

8 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 

9 (6) other appropriate organizations. 

10 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall 

13 submit a report to the Committee on Environment 

14 and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on 

16 Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on 

17 Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 

18 Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ap19 propriations of the House of Representatives. In ad20 dition to the elements described in subsections (a) 

21 and (b), the report shall include— 

22 (A) a summary of federally funded, sus23 tainable chemistry research, development, dem24 onstration, technology transfer, commercializa25 tion, education, and training activities; 


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1 (B) a summary of the financial resources 

2 allocated to sustainable chemistry initiatives; 

3 (C) an assessment of the current state of 

4 sustainable chemistry in the United States, in5 cluding the role that Federal agencies are play6 ing in supporting it; 

7 (D) an analysis of the progress made to8 ward achieving the goals and priorities of this 

9 Act, and recommendations for future program 

10 activities; 

11 (E) an assessment of the benefits of ex12 panding existing, federally supported, regional 

13 innovation and manufacturing hubs to include 

14 sustainable chemistry and the value of directing 

15 the creation of 1 or more dedicated sustainable 

16 chemistry centers of excellence or hubs; and 

17 (F) an evaluation of steps taken and fu18 ture strategies to avoid duplication of efforts, 

19 streamline interagency coordination, facilitate 

20 information sharing, and spread best practices 

21 among participating agencies. 

22 (2) SUBMISSION TO GAO.—The Entity shall 

23 also submit the report described in paragraph (1) to 

24 the Comptroller General of the United States for 

25 consideration in future Congressional inquiries. 


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1 SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE 

2 CHEMISTRY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agencies participating in the 

4 Entity shall carry out activities in support of sustainable 

5 chemistry, as appropriate to the specific mission and pro6 grams of each agency. 

7 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities described in sub8 section (a) shall— 

9 (1) incorporate sustainable chemistry into exist10 ing research, development, demonstration, tech11 nology transfer, commercialization, education, and 

12 training programs, that the agency determines to be 

13 relevant, including consideration of— 

14 (A) merit-based competitive grants to indi15 vidual investigators and teams of investigators, 

16 including, to the extent practicable, early career 

17 investigators for research and development; 

18 (B) grants to fund collaborative research 

19 and development partnerships among univer20 sities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; 

21 (C) coordination of sustainable chemistry 

22 research, development, demonstration, and tech23 nology transfer conducted at Federal labora24 tories and agencies; 


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1 (D) incentive prize competitions and chal2 lenges in coordination with such existing Fed3 eral agency programs; and 

4 (E) grants, loans, and loan guarantees to 

5 aid in the technology transfer and commer6 cialization of sustainable chemicals, materials, 

7 processes, and products; 

8 (2) collect and disseminate information on sus9 tainable chemistry research, development, technology 

10 transfer, and commercialization, including informa11 tion on accomplishments and best practices; 

12 (3) within education and training programs, ex13 pand the education and training of undergraduate 

14 and graduate students and professional scientists 

15 and engineers, and other professionals involved in 

16 materials specification in sustainable chemistry and 

17 engineering, including through partnerships with in18 dustry as described in section 6; 

19 (4) as relevant to an agency’s programs, exam20 ine methods by which the Federal agencies, in col21 laboration and consultation with the National Insti22 tute of Standards and Technology, can facilitate the 

23 development or recognition of validated, standard24 ized tools for performing sustainability assessments 

25 of chemistry processes or products; 


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1 (5) through programs identified by an agency, 

2 support (including through technical assistance, par3 ticipation, financial support, communications tools, 

4 awards, or other forms of support) outreach and dis5 semination of sustainable chemistry advances such 

6 as non-Federal symposia, forums, conferences, and 

7 publications in collaboration with, as appropriate, in8 dustry, academia, scientific and professional soci9 eties, and other relevant groups; 

10 (6) provide for public input and outreach to be 

11 integrated into the activities described in this section 

12 by the convening of public discussions, through 

13 mechanisms such as public meetings, consensus con14 ferences, and educational events, as appropriate; 

15 (7) within each agency, develop metrics to track 

16 the outputs and outcomes of the programs supported 

17 by that agency; and 

18 (8) incentivize or recognize actions that advance 

19 sustainable chemistry products, processes, or initia20 tives, including through the establishment of a na21 tionally recognized awards program through the En22 vironmental Protection Agency to identify, publicize, 

23 and celebrate innovations in sustainable chemistry 

24 and chemical technologies. 


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1 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Financial support provided under 

2 this section shall— 

3 (1) be available only for pre-competitive activi4 ties; and 

5 (2) not be used to promote the sale of a specific 

6 product, process, or technology, or to disparage a 

7 specific product, process, or technology. 

8 (d) AGENCY BUDGET REQUESTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency and 

10 department participating in the activities described 

11 in this section shall, as part of its annual request for 

12 appropriations to the Office of Management and 

13 Budget, submit a report to the Office of Manage14 ment and Budget that— 

15 (A) identifies the activities of the agency or 

16 department that contribute directly to these ac17 tivities; and 

18 (B) estimates the portion of the agency or 

19 department’s request for appropriations that is 

20 intended to be allocated to those activities. 

21 (2) ANNUAL BUDGET REQUEST TO CON22 GRESS.—The President shall include in the annual 

23 budget request to Congress a statement of the por24 tion of the annual budget request for each agency or 


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1 department that will be allocated to activities under2 taken pursuant to this section. 

3 SEC. 6. PARTNERSHIPS IN SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agencies participating in the 

5 Entity may facilitate and support, through financial, tech6 nical, or other assistance, the creation of partnerships be7 tween institutions of higher education, nongovernmental 

8 organizations, consortia, or companies across the value 

9 chain in the chemical industry, including small- and me10 dium-sized enterprises, to— 

11 (1) create collaborative sustainable chemistry 

12 research, development, demonstration, technology 

13 transfer, and commercialization programs; and 

14 (2) train students and retrain professional sci15 entists, engineers, and others involved in materials 

16 specification on the use of sustainable chemistry con17 cepts and strategies by methods, including— 

18 (A) developing or recognizing curricular 

19 materials and courses for undergraduate and 

20 graduate levels and for the professional develop21 ment of scientists, engineers, and others in22 volved in materials specification; and 

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1 istry and recruiting professionals to pursue 

2 such courses. 

3 (b) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—To be eligi4 ble for support under this section, a partnership in sus5 tainable chemistry shall include at least one private sector 

6 organization. 

7 (c) SELECTION OF PARTNERSHIPS.—In selecting 

8 partnerships for support under this section, the agencies 

9 participating in the Entity shall also consider the extent 

10 to which the applicants are willing and able to dem11 onstrate evidence of support for, and commitment to, the 

12 goals outlined in the roadmap and report described in sec13 tion 4. 

14 (d) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—Financial support 

15 provided under this section may not be used— 

16 (1) to support or expand a regulatory chemical 

17 management program at an implementing agency 

18 under a State law; 

19 (2) to construct or renovate a building or struc20 ture; or 

21 (3) to promote the sale of a specific product, 

22 process, or technology, or to disparage a specific 

23 product, process, or technology. 


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1 SEC. 7. PRIORITIZATION. 

2 In carrying out this Act, the Entity shall focus its 

3 support for sustainable chemistry activities on those that 

4 achieve, to the highest extent practicable, the goals out5 lined in the Act. 

6 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or 

8 amend any State law or action with regard to sustainable 

9 chemistry or green chemistry, as defined by the State. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Chemistry 

12 Research and Development Act of 2019’’. 

13 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds that— 

15 (1) Congress recognized the importance and 

16 value of sustainable chemistry in section 114 of the 

17 American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (Pub18 lic Law 114–329); 

19 (2) sustainable chemistry and materials trans20 formation is a key value contributor to business com21 petitiveness across many industrial and consumer sec22 tors; 

23 (3) companies across hundreds of supply chains 

24 critical to the American economy are seeking to re25 duce costs and open new markets through innovations 

26 in manufacturing and materials, and are in need of 


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1 new innovations in chemistry, including sustainable 

2 chemistry; 

3 (4) sustainable chemistry can improve the effi4 ciency with which natural resources are used to meet 

5 human needs for chemical products while avoiding 

6 environmental harm, reduce or eliminate the emis7 sions of and exposures to hazardous substances, mini8 mize the use of resources, and benefit the economy, 

9 people, and the environment; and 

10 (5) a recent report by the Government Account11 ability Office (GAO–18–307) found that the Federal 

12 Government could play an important role in helping 

13 realize the full innovation and market potential of 

14 sustainable chemistry technologies, including through 

15 a coordinated national effort on sustainable chemistry 

16 and standardized tools and definitions to support sus17 tainable chemistry research, development, demonstra18 tion, and commercialization. 

19 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATING ENTITY FOR SUSTAIN20 ABLE CHEMISTRY. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 

23 of Science and Technology Policy shall convene an inter24 agency entity (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Entity’’) under 

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1 sponsibility to coordinate Federal programs and activities 

2 in support of sustainable chemistry, including those de3 scribed in sections 5 and 6. 

4 (b) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING GROUPS.—In con5 vening the Entity, the Director of the Office of Science and 

6 Technology Policy shall consider overlap and possible co7 ordination with existing committees, subcommittees, or 

8 other groups of the National Science and Technology Coun9 cil, such as— 

10 (1) the Committee on Environment; 

11 (2) the Committee on Technology; 

12 (3) the Committee on Science; or 

13 (4) related groups or subcommittees. 

14 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Entity shall be co-chaired by the 

15 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and 

16 a representative from the Environmental Protection Agen17 cy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the 

18 National Science Foundation, or the Department of Energy, 

19 as selected by the Director of the Office of Science and Tech20 nology Policy. 

21 (d) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The Entity shall in22 clude representatives, including subject matter experts, from 

23 the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Insti24 tute of Standards and Technology, the National Science 

25 Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of 


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1 Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the National Insti2 tutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven3 tion, the Food and Drug Administration, and other related 

4 Federal agencies, as appropriate. 

5 (e) TERMINATION.—The Entity shall terminate on the 

6 date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 SEC. 4. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 

9 (a) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 2 years after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall— 

11 (1) consult with relevant stakeholders, including 

12 representatives from industry, academia, national 

13 labs, the Federal Government, and international enti14 ties, to develop and update, as needed, a consensus 

15 definition of ‘‘sustainable chemistry’’ to guide the ac16 tivities under this Act; 

17 (2) develop a working framework of attributes 

18 characterizing and metrics for assessing sustainable 

19 chemistry, as described in subsection (b); 

20 (3) assess the state of sustainable chemistry in 

21 the United States as a key benchmark from which 

22 progress under the activities described in this Act can 

23 be measured, including assessing key sectors of the 

24 United States economy, key technology platforms, 

25 commercial priorities, and barriers to innovation; 


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1 (4) coordinate and support Federal research, de2 velopment, demonstration, technology transfer, com3 mercialization, education, and training efforts in sus4 tainable chemistry, including budget coordination 

5 and support for public-private partnerships, as ap6 propriate; 

7 (5) identify any Federal regulatory barriers to, 

8 and opportunities for, Federal agencies facilitating 

9 the development of incentives for development, consid10 eration and use of sustainable chemistry processes 

11 and products; 

12 (6) identify major scientific challenges, road13 blocks, or hurdles to transformational progress in im14 proving the sustainability of the chemical sciences; 

15 and 

16 (7) review, identify, and make effort to eliminate 

17 duplicative Federal funding and duplicative Federal 

18 research in sustainable chemistry. 

19 (b) CHARACTERIZING AND ASSESSING SUSTAINABLE

20 CHEMISTRY.—The Entity shall develop a working frame21 work of attributes characterizing and metrics for assessing 

22 sustainable chemistry for the purposes of carrying out the 

23 Act. In developing this framework, the Entity shall— 

24 (1) seek advice and input from stakeholders as 

25 described in subsection (c); 


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1 (2) consider existing definitions of, or frame2 works characterizing and metrics for assessing, sus3 tainable chemistry already in use at Federal agencies; 

4 (3) consider existing definitions of, or frame5 works characterizing and metrics for assessing, sus6 tainable chemistry already in use by international or7 ganizations of which the United States is a member, 

8 such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation 

9 and Development; and 

10 (4) consider any other appropriate existing defi11 nitions of, or frameworks characterizing and metrics 

12 for assessing, sustainable chemistry. 

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties de14 scribed in subsections (a) and (b), the Entity shall consult 

15 and coordinate with stakeholders qualified to provide advice 

16 and information to guide Federal activities related to sus17 tainable chemistry through workshops, requests for informa18 tion, or other mechanisms as necessary. The stakeholders 

19 shall include representatives from— 

20 (1) business and industry (including trade asso21 ciations and small- and medium-sized enterprises 

22 from across the value chain); 

23 (2) the scientific community (including the Na24 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and MediVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Aug 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S999.RS S999

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1 cine, scientific professional societies, national labs, 

2 and academia); 

3 (3) the defense community; 

4 (4) State, tribal, and local governments, includ5 ing nonregulatory State or regional sustainable chem6 istry programs, as appropriate; 

7 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 

8 (6) other appropriate organizations. 

9 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall 

12 submit a report to the Committee on Environment 

13 and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on 

15 Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on 

16 Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 

17 Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Appro18 priations of the House of Representatives. In addition 

19 to the elements described in subsections (a) and (b), 

20 the report shall include— 

21 (A) a summary of federally funded, sustain22 able chemistry research, development, demonstra23 tion, technology transfer, commercialization, 

24 education, and training activities; 


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1 (B) a summary of the financial resources 

2 allocated to sustainable chemistry initiatives; 

3 (C) an assessment of the current state of 

4 sustainable chemistry in the United States, in5 cluding the role that Federal agencies are play6 ing in supporting it; 

7 (D) an analysis of the progress made to8 ward achieving the goals and priorities of this 

9 Act, and any recommendations for future pro10 gram activities; 

11 (E) an evaluation of steps taken and future 

12 strategies to avoid duplication of efforts, stream13 line interagency coordination, facilitate informa14 tion sharing, and spread best practices among 

15 participating agencies; and 

16 (F) an evaluation of duplicative Federal 

17 funding and duplicative Federal research in sus18 tainable chemistry, efforts undertaken by the En19 tity to eliminate duplicative funding and re20 search, and recommendations on how to achieve 

21 these goals. 

22 (2) SUBMISSION TO GAO.—The Entity shall also 

23 submit the report described in paragraph (1) to the 

24 Comptroller General of the United States for consider25 ation in future Congressional inquiries. 


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1 SEC. 5. AGENCY ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE 

2 CHEMISTRY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agencies participating in the 

4 Entity shall carry out activities in support of sustainable 

5 chemistry, as appropriate to the specific mission and pro6 grams of each agency. 

7 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities described in subsection 

8 (a) shall— 

9 (1) incorporate sustainable chemistry into exist10 ing basic and applied research, development, dem11 onstration, technology transfer, commercialization, 

12 education, and training programs, that the agency 

13 determines to be relevant, including consideration 

14 of— 

15 (A) merit-based competitive grants to indi16 vidual investigators and teams of investigators, 

17 including, to the extent practicable, early career 

18 investigators for research and development; 

19 (B) grants to fund collaborative research 

20 and development partnerships among univer21 sities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; 

22 (C) coordination of sustainable chemistry 

23 research, development, demonstration, and tech24 nology transfer conducted at Federal laboratories 

25 and agencies; 


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1 (D) incentive prize competitions and chal2 lenges in coordination with such existing Federal 

3 agency programs; and 

4 (E) grants, loans, and loan guarantees to 

5 aid in the technology transfer and commer6 cialization of sustainable chemicals, materials, 

7 processes, and products; 

8 (2) collect and disseminate information on sus9 tainable chemistry research, development, technology 

10 transfer, and commercialization, including informa11 tion on accomplishments and best practices; 

12 (3) within education and training programs, ex13 pand the education and training of undergraduate 

14 and graduate students and professional scientists and 

15 engineers, and other professionals involved in all as16 pects of sustainable chemistry and engineering, in17 cluding through partnerships with industry as de18 scribed in section 6; 

19 (4) as relevant to an agency’s programs, examine 

20 methods by which the Federal agencies, in collabora21 tion and consultation with the National Institute of 

22 Standards and Technology, can facilitate the develop23 ment or recognition of validated, standardized tools 

24 for performing sustainability assessments of chemistry 

25 processes or products; 


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1 (5) through programs identified by an agency, 

2 support (including through technical assistance, par3 ticipation, financial support, communications tools, 

4 awards, or other forms of support) outreach and dis5 semination of sustainable chemistry advances such as 

6 non-Federal symposia, forums, conferences, and publi7 cations in collaboration with, as appropriate, indus8 try, academia, scientific and professional societies, 

9 and other relevant groups; 

10 (6) provide for public input and outreach to be 

11 integrated into the activities described in this section 

12 by the convening of public discussions, through mech13 anisms such as public meetings, consensus con14 ferences, and educational events, as appropriate; 

15 (7) within each agency, develop or adapt metrics 

16 to track the outputs and outcomes of the programs 

17 supported by that agency; and 

18 (8) incentivize or recognize actions that advance 

19 sustainable chemistry products, processes, or initia20 tives, including through the establishment of a nation21 ally recognized awards program through the Environ22 mental Protection Agency to identify, publicize, and 

23 celebrate innovations in sustainable chemistry and 

24 chemical technologies. 


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1 (c) LIMITATIONS .—Financial support provided under 

2 this section shall— 

3 (1) be available only for pre-competitive activi4 ties; and 

5 (2) not be used to promote the sale of a specific 

6 product, process, or technology, or to disparage a spe7 cific product, process, or technology. 

8 SEC. 6. PARTNERSHIPS IN SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The agencies participating in the 

10 Entity may facilitate and support, through financial, tech11 nical, or other assistance, the creation of partnerships be12 tween institutions of higher education, nongovernmental or13 ganizations, consortia, or companies across the value chain 

14 in the chemical industry, including small- and medium15 sized enterprises, to— 

16 (1) create collaborative sustainable chemistry re17 search, development, demonstration, technology trans18 fer, and commercialization programs; and 

19 (2) train students and retrain professional sci20 entists, engineers, and others involved in materials 

21 specification on the use of sustainable chemistry con22 cepts and strategies by methods, including— 

23 (A) developing or recognizing curricular 

24 materials and courses for undergraduate and 

25 graduate levels and for the professional developVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Aug 12, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S999.RS S999

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•S 999 RS

1 ment of scientists, engineers, and others involved 

2 in materials specification; and 

3 (B) publicizing the availability of profes4 sional development courses in sustainable chem5 istry and recruiting professionals to pursue such 

6 courses. 

7 (b) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—To be eligible 

8 for support under this section, a partnership in sustainable 

9 chemistry shall include at least one private sector organiza10 tion. 

11 (c) SELECTION OF PARTNERSHIPS.—In selecting part12 nerships for support under this section, the agencies partici13 pating in the Entity shall also consider the extent to which 

14 the applicants are willing and able to demonstrate evidence 

15 of support for, and commitment to, the goals outlined in 

16 the strategic plan and report described in section 4. 

17 (d) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—Financial support 

18 provided under this section may not be used— 

19 (1) to support or expand a regulatory chemical 

20 management program at an implementing agency 

21 under a State law; 

22 (2) to construct or renovate a building or struc23 ture; or 


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•S 999 RS

1 (3) to promote the sale of a specific product, 

2 process, or technology, or to disparage a specific prod3 uct, process, or technology. 

4 SEC. 7. PRIORITIZATION. 

5 In carrying out this Act, the Entity shall focus its sup6 port for sustainable chemistry activities on those that 

7 achieve, to the highest extent practicable, the goals outlined 

8 in the Act. 

9 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or 

11 amend any State law or action with regard to sustainable 

12 chemistry, as defined by the State. 


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pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 513 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 999 

[Report No. 116–251] 

A BILL 

To provide for Federal coordination of activities 

purposes. supporting sustainable chemistry, and for other 

AUGUST 12, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS