I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7931 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to 

establish an interagency working group to coordinate Federal activities 

to advance research and development needed to address PFAS. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2020 

Ms. HOULAHAN (for herself, Ms. DEAN, Mr. LAMBORN, and Mr. 

FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To direct the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish an interagency working group 

to coordinate Federal activities to advance research and 

development needed to address PFAS. 

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 ‘‘PFAS Interagency Re5 search Coordination Strategy Act’’ or the ‘‘PIRCS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY BODY ON RESEARCH RELATED TO 

2 PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

4 Science and Technology Policy, acting through the Na5 tional Science and Technology Council, shall establish an 

6 interagency working group to coordinate Federal activities 

7 to advance research and development needed to address 

8 PFAS. 

9 (b) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The interagency work10 ing group shall include a representative of each— 

11 (1) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

12 (2) the National Institute of Environmental 

13 Health Sciences; 

14 (3) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis15 ease Registry; 

16 (4) the National Science Foundation; 

17 (5) the Department of Defense; 

18 (6) the National Institutes of Health; 

19 (7) the National Institute of Standards and 

20 Technology; 

21 (8) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad22 ministration; 

23 (9) the Department of the Interior; 

24 (10) the Department of Transportation; 

25 (11) the Department of Homeland Security; 


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1 (12) the National Aeronautics and Space Ad2 ministration; 

3 (13) the National Toxicology Program; 

4 (14) the Department of Agriculture; 

5 (15) the Geological Survey; 

6 (16) the Department of Commerce; 

7 (17) the Department of Energy; 

8 (18) the Office of Information and Regulatory 

9 Affairs; 

10 (19) the Office of Management and Budget; 

11 and 

12 (20) any such other Federal department or 

13 agency as the President considers appropriate. 

14 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The interagency working group 

15 shall be co-chaired by the Director of the Office of Science 

16 and Technology Policy and a representative from one or 

17 more agencies, selected by the Director of the Office of 

18 Science and Technology Policy from the list of agencies 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WORKING GROUP.— 

21 The interagency working group established under sub22 section (a) shall— 

23 (1) provide for interagency coordination of fed24 erally funded PFAS research and development; and 


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1 (2) not later than 12 months after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act and every 2 years subse3 quent, develop or update a strategic plan for Federal 

4 support for PFAS research and development that— 

5 (A) with respect to the fiscal year for 

6 which such strategic plan is to be developed, 

7 identifies, by agency, the federally funded 

8 PFAS research and development, including the 

9 nature and scope of such research and develop10 ment and the amount of funding associated 

11 with such research and development for such 

12 fiscal year; 

13 (B) identifies scientific and technological 

14 challenges that must be addressed to under15 stand and to significantly reduce the environ16 mental and human health impacts of PFAS and 

17 to identify cost-effective— 

18 (i) alternatives to PFAS that are de19 signed to be safer and more environ20 mentally friendly; 

21 (ii) methods for removal of PFAS 

22 from the environment; and 

23 (iii) methods to safely destroy or de24 grade PFAS; 


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1 (C) establishes goals, priorities, and 

2 metrics for federally funded PFAS research and 

3 development that takes into account the 

4 progress of the research and development iden5 tified in paragraph (A) and the challenges iden6 tified in paragraph (B); and 

7 (D) develops an implementation plan for 

8 Federal agencies. 

9 (e) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strategic plan 

10 under subsection (d), the interagency working group shall 

11 consult with States, Indian Tribes, territories, local gov12 ernments, appropriate industries, institutions of higher 

13 education, and nongovernmental organizations with exper14 tise in PFAS research and development, treatment, man15 agement, and alternative development. 

16 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—For each fiscal year begin17 ning with fiscal year 2022, not later than 90 days after 

18 submission of the President’s annual budget request for 

19 such fiscal year, the interagency working group shall pre20 pare and submit to Congress a report that includes— 

21 (1) a summary of federally funded PFAS re22 search and development for such fiscal year and the 

23 preceding fiscal year, including a disaggregation of 

24 spending for any agency that has funded PFAS re25 search; and 


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1 (2) a description of how the Federal agencies 

2 under paragraph (1) are implementing the strategic 

3 plan described in subsection (d). 

4 (g) SUNSET.—The interagency working group estab5 lished under subsection (a) shall terminate 6 years after 

6 the date on which such working group is established. 

7 (h) PFAS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The 

8 term ‘‘PFAS research and development’’ includes any re9 search or project that has the goal of accomplishing the 

10 following: 

11 (1) The removal of PFAS from the environ12 ment. 

13 (2) The safe destruction or degradation of 

14 PFAS. 

15 (3) The development and deployment of safer 

16 and more environmentally friendly alternative sub17 stances that are functionally similar to those made 

18 with PFAS. 

19 (4) The understanding of sources of environ20 mental PFAS contamination and pathways to expo21 sure for the public. 

22 (5) The understanding of the toxicity of PFAS 

23 to humans and animals. 


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1 (6) Any other research project or goal that the 

2 Director determines appropriate. 

Æ 


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