II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 999 

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 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) Congress recognized the importance and 

9 value of sustainable chemistry and the role of the 

10 Federal Government in section 114 of the American 


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1 Innovation and Competitiveness Act (Public Law 

2 114–329); 

3 (2) sustainable chemistry and materials trans4 formation is a key value contributor to business 

5 competitiveness across many industrial and con6 sumer sectors; 

7 (3) companies across hundreds of supply chains 

8 critical to the American economy are seeking to re9 duce costs and open new markets through innova10 tions in manufacturing and materials, and are in 

11 need of new innovations in chemistry, including sus12 tainable chemistry; 

13 (4) sustainable chemistry can improve the effi14 ciency with which natural resources are used to meet 

15 human needs for chemical products while avoiding 

16 environmental harm, reduce or eliminate the emis17 sions of and exposures to hazardous substances, 

18 minimize the use of resources, and benefit the econ19 omy, people, and the environment; and 

20 (5) a recent report by the Government Account21 ability Office (GAO–18–307) found that the Federal 

22 Government could play an important role in helping 

23 realize the full innovation and market potential of 

24 sustainable chemistry technologies, including 

25 through a coordinated national effort on sustainable 


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1 chemistry and standardized tools and definitions to 

2 support sustainable chemistry research, development, 

3 demonstration, and commercialization. 

4 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATING ENTITY FOR SUSTAIN5 ABLE CHEMISTRY. 

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

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of8 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall convene an 

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

10 under the National Science and Technology Council with 

11 the responsibility to coordinate Federal programs and ac12 tivities in support of sustainable chemistry, including 

13 those described in sections 5 and 6. 

14 (b) COORDINATION WITH EXISTING GROUPS.—In 

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

16 and Technology Policy shall consider overlap and possible 

17 coordination with existing committees, subcommittees, or 

18 other groups of the National Science and Technology 

19 Council, such as— 

20 (1) the Committee on Environment, Natural 

21 Resources, and Sustainability; 

22 (2) the Committee on Technology; 

23 (3) the Committee on Science; or 

24 (4) related groups or subcommittees. 


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

2 representatives from the Environmental Protection Agen3 cy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

4 and the National Science Foundation. 

5 (d) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The Entity shall in6 clude representatives, including subject matter experts, 

7 from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 

8 Institute of Standards and Technology, the National 

9 Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the De10 partment of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the 

11 National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 

12 Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administra13 tion, and other related Federal agencies, as appropriate. 

14 SEC. 4. ROADMAP FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY. 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the Entity shall— 

17 (1) develop a working framework of attributes 

18 characterizing sustainable chemistry, as described in 

19 subsection (b); 

20 (2) 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 

23 can be measured, including assessing key sectors of 

24 the United States economy, key technology plat25 forms, and barriers to innovation; 


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1 (3) coordinate and support Federal research, 

2 development, demonstration, technology transfer, 

3 commercialization, education, and training efforts in 

4 sustainable chemistry, including budget coordination 

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

7 (4) identify methods by which the Federal 

8 agencies can facilitate the development of incentives 

9 for development, consideration and use of sustain10 able chemistry processes and products, including in11 novative financing mechanisms; 

12 (5) identify major scientific challenges, road13 blocks, or hurdles to transformational progress in 

14 improving the sustainability of the chemical sciences; 

15 and 

16 (6) identify other opportunities for expanding 

17 Federal efforts in support of sustainable chemistry. 

18 (b) ATTRIBUTES CHARACTERIZING SUSTAINABLE

19 CHEMISTRY.—The Entity shall develop a working frame20 work of attributes characterizing sustainable chemistry for 

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

22 framework, the Entity shall— 

23 (1) seek advice and input from stakeholders as 

24 described in subsection (c); 


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1 (2) consider existing definitions of or frame2 works characterizing sustainable or green chemistry 

3 already in use at Federal agencies; 

4 (3) consider existing definitions of or frame5 works characterizing sustainable or green chemistry 

6 already in use by international organizations of 

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

8 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel9 opment; and 

10 (4) consider any other appropriate existing defi11 nitions of or frameworks characterizing sustainable 

12 or green 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 ad16 vice and information to guide Federal activities related to 

17 sustainable chemistry through workshops, requests for in18 formation, and other mechanisms as necessary. The stake19 holders 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 Med25 icine, scientific professional societies, and academia); 


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1 (3) the defense community; 

2 (4) State, tribal, and local governments, includ3 ing nonregulatory State or regional sustainable 

4 chemistry programs, as appropriate; 

5 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 

6 (6) other appropriate organizations. 

7 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

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

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

10 submit a report to the Committee on Environment 

11 and Public Works, the Committee on Commerce, 

12 Science, and Transportation, and the Committee on 

13 Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on 

14 Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 

15 Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ap16 propriations of the House of Representatives. In ad17 dition to the elements described in subsections (a) 

18 and (b), the report shall include— 

19 (A) a summary of federally funded, sus20 tainable chemistry research, development, dem21 onstration, technology transfer, commercializa22 tion, education, and training activities; 

23 (B) a summary of the financial resources 

24 allocated to sustainable chemistry initiatives; 


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1 (C) an assessment of the current state of 

2 sustainable chemistry in the United States, in3 cluding the role that Federal agencies are play4 ing in supporting it; 

5 (D) an analysis of the progress made to6 ward achieving the goals and priorities of this 

7 Act, and recommendations for future program 

8 activities; 

9 (E) an assessment of the benefits of ex10 panding existing, federally supported, regional 

11 innovation and manufacturing hubs to include 

12 sustainable chemistry and the value of directing 

13 the creation of 1 or more dedicated sustainable 

14 chemistry centers of excellence or hubs; and 

15 (F) an evaluation of steps taken and fu16 ture strategies to avoid duplication of efforts, 

17 streamline interagency coordination, facilitate 

18 information sharing, and spread best practices 

19 among participating agencies. 

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

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

22 the Comptroller General of the United States for 

23 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 

23 (B) publicizing the availability of profes24 sional development courses in sustainable chemVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Apr 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S999.IS S999

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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. 

Æ 


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