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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3555 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3555

  To coordinate environmental technology and research of the Federal 
                  Government, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 1993

  Ms. Eshoo introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To coordinate environmental technology and research of the Federal 
                  Government, 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 ``Environmental Technology Research 
Integration and Coordination Act''.

SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND 
              DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Interagency Coordination.--The Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy shall, in coordination with the heads of 
other Federal agencies that have substantial investment in the 
development and adoption of environmental technologies, take any action 
necessary--
            (1) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, the 
        coordinated, interagency promotion of the research, 
        development, and adoption of environmental technologies; and
            (2) to develop priorities for Federal environmental 
        technology research, development, and adoption efforts.
    (b) Implementation.--In carrying out this section, the Director of 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall--
            (1) review current Federally funded programs, including 
        Federal budget outlays for these programs, to determine their 
        role in the development and dissemination of environmental 
        technologies;
            (2) recommend the specific responsibilities of each 
        appropriate Federal agency to achieve the goals and priorities 
        developed under this section;
            (3) describe the recommended levels of Federal funding 
        required for each Federal agency to carry out the specific 
        responsibilities recommended in paragraph (2);
            (4) develop a means for ensuring, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, that the principles of sustainable economic 
        development are integrated into the research, development, and 
        technology programs of all Federal agencies;
            (5) ensure that the efforts of the Federal Government are 
        coordinated with the efforts of State and local governments and 
        private and nonprofit organizations promoting the research, 
        development, and demonstration of environmental technologies; 
        and
            (6) submit to the Congress any recommendations regarding 
        legislative or administrative action, including recommendations 
        on the roles of Federal agencies, which may be required to 
        carry out this section.
    (c) Budget Coordination.--The Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy shall annually assess, before the President submits 
to the Congress the budget for a fiscal year, the budget estimate of 
each relevant Federal agency for consistency with the plans, reviews, 
and priorities developed under this section. The Director shall make 
the results of the annual assessment available to the appropriate 
elements of the Executive Office of the President, particularly the 
Office of Management and Budget, for use in the preparation of such 
budget.
    (d) Annual Review and Plan.--The Director of the Office of Science 
and Technology shall annually submit to the Congress a report 
containing an evaluation and plan that assesses the progress of Federal 
efforts in advancing the research, development, and adoption of 
environmental technologies.
    (e) Non-Federal Participation.--The Director of the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy shall establish mechanisms to ensure the 
participation of non-Federal entities, including State and local 
governments, United States industry, institutions of higher education, 
worker organizations, professional associations, and United States 
nonprofit organizations, in carrying out this section, including the 
development of the plans and reviews developed under this section.

SEC. 3. INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES INTO 
              EXISTING NETWORKS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, through the Office of 
Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency and in 
cooperation with the Under Secretary for Technology of the Department 
of Commerce and the heads of any other appropriate Federal agencies, 
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use existing information 
network capabilities of the Federal Government to provide access to 
data on environmental technologies developed, tested, or verified under 
programs established by this Act, and by other appropriate Federal and 
non-Federal sources. Such data shall include information on--
            (1) activities carried out under this Act and the 
        amendments made by this Act;
            (2) performance standards regarding environmental 
        technologies;
            (3) significant international developments in environmental 
        technologies, fully coordinating with other international 
        technology information programs, of the Federal Government; and
            (4) other information determined by the Administrator to be 
        of substantial value in promoting the development and adoption 
        of environmental technologies.
    (b) Use of Existing Resources.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
            (1) use existing public and private sector information 
        providers and carriers;
            (2) add to existing data sources; and
            (3) integrate data described in subsection (a) into other 
        technology databases maintained by the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, 
        and other appropriate Federal agencies.
    (c) Outreach.--The Administrator shall conduct appropriate outreach 
efforts to advertise, deliver, and disseminate the information made 
available through the networks referred to in subsection (a), including 
information on participation in Alliances referred to in subsection 
(d).
    (d) Environmental Technology Transfer Alliances.--
            (1) Technology transfer.--The Administrator may enter into 
        partnership agreements (in this section referred to as 
        ``Alliances'') with an agency of a State or local government, a 
        non-profit organization in which a State or local government is 
        a member, an institution of higher education designated by a 
        State or local government, or a manufacturing extension and 
        outreach service or regional technical assistance service 
        approved by the Federal Government or a State in order to--
                    (A) facilitate access to information incorporated 
                in the networks referred to in subsection (a); and
                    (B) transfer to entities referred to in paragraph 
                (2) other information that would enhance the 
                development and adoption of environmental technologies.
            (2) Entities eligible for alliance participation.--Entities 
        eligible for participation in an Alliance include United States 
        companies, United States non-profit organizations, Federal 
        laboratories, United States institutions of higher education, 
        sponsoring organizations, and other organizations that the 
        Administrator considers to be appropriate.
            (3) Alliance activities.--Under a partnership agreement 
        referred to in paragraph (1), an Alliance--
                    (A) may disseminate information made available 
                through the networks to any other entity the Alliance 
                considers necessary to advance the goals of this 
                section;
                    (B) is encouraged to collect, and disseminate to 
                United States companies in the region, information 
                regarding opportunities for the more efficient use of 
                materials and energy and for waste minimization, 
                materials conversion, and recycling;
                    (C) is encouraged to provide technical assistance 
                to United States companies related to activities under 
                this subsection; and
                    (D) may undertake any other activities the 
                Administrator considers appropriate to carry out this 
                subsection.
            (4) Use of existing programs.--In selecting partners for a 
        partnership agreement referred to in paragraph (1), the 
        Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use 
        existing programs for technical assistance and technical 
        information dissemination.
            (5) Financial assistance.--
                    (A) In general.--To carry out this subsection, the 
                Administrator may provide financial assistance to an 
                Alliance under terms and conditions prescribed by the 
                Administrator.
                    (B) Limitations.--The Administrator may not provide 
                financial assistance to an Alliance under this 
                subsection--
                            (i) for construction of facilities; or
                            (ii) in an amount that exceeds a minority 
                        cost share of the activities carried out by the 
                        Alliance under this subsection.

SEC. 4. USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS BY THE FEDERAL 
              GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--The President shall establish a program for 
evaluating and approving the purchase by the Federal Government of 
environmental technology products. The President shall--
            (1) work with established performance standards programs to 
        ensure substitutability of environmental technologies for 
        conventional technologies for the purposes of the Federal 
        Government;
            (2) establish a priority list of technologies for inclusion 
        under the program; and
            (3) implement a plan for the procurement of environmental 
        technologies.
    (b) Report.--Within one year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act and annually thereafter, the President shall submit to the 
Congress a report describing the progress made in carrying out this 
section and plans for carrying out this section for the three years 
immediately following the year in which the report is submitted.

SEC. 5. STUDY OF REGULATORY INFLUENCES ON INNOVATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL 
              TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Review.--The Administrator, working with State regulatory 
agencies, shall conduct a study of current environmental regulations 
and their effect upon innovation in environmental technologies and the 
introduction of new environmental products.
    (b) Report.--The Administrator shall, within one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, submit to the Congress a report on 
the results of the study described in subsection (a). The report shall 
contain any suggestions of the Administrator for actions that could be 
taken to increase the regulatory incentives for industrial use of new 
environmental technologies.

SEC. 6. STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF TAX INCENTIVES ON INNOVATION IN 
              ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES.

    The President shall study the potential for efficiently encouraging 
the development and use of environmental technologies through tax 
incentives. The study shall--
            (1) review existing environmental and technology 
        development tax incentives and estimate their impact on the 
        development and use of environmental technologies;
            (2) assess the potential of alternative tax incentives that 
        are considered promising for accelerating the development and 
        use of environmental technologies; and
            (3) in coordination with the study of regulatory effects on 
        innovation in environmental technologies established in section 
        5, assess the relationship between existing regulations and 
        proposed regulatory reforms on the influence of existing and 
        potential tax incentives.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) The term ``environmental technology'' means--
                    (A) a technology that is primarily intended to 
                improve the quality of the environment through 
                pollution reduction or remediation;
                    (B) 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
                    (C) a technology within the meaning of 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).
            (3) The term ``sustainable economic development'' means the 
        integration of environmental and economic development concerns 
        leading to long-term economic development with reduced 
        pollution and the more efficient use of energy and materials.

                                 <all>
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