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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1186

To establish the National Environmental Technologies Agency.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 3, 1993

Mrs. BENTLEY (for herself, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. LEWIS of California, and Mrs.

MORELLA) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, Banking, Finance and

Urban Affairs, and the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish the National Environmental Technologies

Agency.

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 ‘‘National Environ5 mental Technologies Agency Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) environmental problems facing the world

9 pose a threat to the environmental security of the

10 United States and other nations;
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1 (2) the causes of many environmental problems

2 lie in the use of environmentally damaging tech3 nologies in areas such as transportation, energy pro4 duction, industrial manufacturing, and product use;

5 (3) the development and deployment of environ6 mentally safe technologies will both enhance the Na7 tion’s environmental security and the economic

8 standing of the Nation in the world’s marketplace;

9 and

10 (4) the Federal Government should play a sig11 nificant role in enhancing the Nation’s environ12 mental security by—

13 (A) facilitating the development and de14 ployment of environmentally safe technologies

15 that provide solutions to environmental prob16 lems; and

17 (B) assisting in the diffusion of knowledge

18 of environmentally safe technologies throughout

19 the Nation.

20 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to assist

21 the efforts of private industry, universities, nonprofit re22 search centers, and government laboratories to provide en23 vironmentally safe technical solutions to problems threat24 ening the Nation’s environmental security and, in the

25 process, to help the Nation’s competitiveness.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 For the purposes of this Act—

3 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the National Environmental Tech5 nologies Agency;

6 (2) the term ‘‘Advisory Council’’ means the In7 dustry and Academia Advisory Council established

8 by section 5;

9 (3) the term ‘‘Agency’’ means the National En10 vironmental Technologies Agency established by sec11 tion 4; and

12 (4) the term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Critical Tech13 nologies Revolving Fund established by section 9.

14 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AGENCY.

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an

16 independent establishment of the United States the Na17 tional Environmental Technologies Agency.

18 (b) ADMINISTRATOR.—(1) The Agency shall be head19 ed by the Administrator of the National Environmental

20 Technologies Agency, who shall be appointed by the Presi21 dent, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

22 (2) Section 5313 of title 5; United States Code, is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new item:

24 ‘‘Administrator, National Environmental Tech25 nologies Agency.’’.
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1 (c) STAFF.—The Administrator may appoint a staff

2 of professionals with skills in the area of program defini3 tion and management and such support staff as the Ad4 ministrator determines to be necessary, of which no more

5 than 3 may be in positions of confidential or policy-making

6 character.

7 (d) FUNCTIONS.—It shall be the function of the

8 Agency to—

9 (1) coordinate planning by the departments,

10 agencies, and independent establishments of the

11 United States relating to restoration and protection

12 of the environment;

13 (2) identify areas that—

14 (A) need technical solutions to maintain

15 the environmental security of the Nation;

16 (B) are not receiving the long-term prod17 uct-oriented research that is necessary to meet

18 those needs; and

19 (C) exhibit the greatest promise for the

20 successful development of solutions;

21 (3) support and assist the development of tech22 nology having potential future application in the res23 toration and protection of the environment;

24 (4) coordinate among the departments, agen25 cies, independent establishments of the United
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1 States and the private sector the exchange of tech2 nological information relating to restoration and pro3 tection of the environment;

4 (5) support continuing research and develop5 ment of advanced technologies by industrial, aca6 demic, and governmental and nongovernmental enti7 ties;

8 (6) monitor on a continuing basis the research

9 and development being conducted on advanced tech10 nologies by private industry in the United States;

11 and

12 (7) promote continuing development of a tech13 nological industrial base in the United States.

14 (e) INTERAGENCY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—(1)

15 There is established an interagency advisory committee

16 composed of—

17 (A) the Administrator of the Environmental

18 Protection Agency, who shall be chair of the commit19 tee;

20 (B) the Director of the Office of Science and

21 Technology Policy, or the Director’s designee;

22 (C) the Secretary of Energy, or the Secretary’s

23 designee;

24 (D) the Secretary of Commerce, or the Sec25 retary’s designee;
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1 (E) the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s

2 designee;

3 (F) the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary’s

4 designee; and

5 (G) the Administrator of the National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration, or the Adminis7 trator’s designee.

8 (2) The interagency advisory committee shall advise

9 and provide information to the Agency with respect to the

10 needs and concerns of their agencies in the field of envi11 ronmental technologies.

12 SEC. 5. INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA ADVISORY COUNCIL.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the In14 dustry and Academia Advisory Council.

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Advisory Council shall

16 consist of 9 members appointed by the Administrator, at

17 least 5 of whom shall be from United States industry.

18 (2) The persons appointed as members of the Advi19 sory Council—

20 (A) shall be eminent in fields such as business,

21 research, new product development, engineering,

22 labor, education, management consulting, environ23 ment, and international relations;

24 (B) shall be selected solely on the basis of es25 tablished records of distinguished service; and
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1 (C) shall not be employees of the Federal Gov2 ernment.

3 (3) In making appointments of persons as members

4 of the Advisory Council, the Administrator shall give due

5 consideration to any recommendations that may be sub6 mitted to the Director by the National Academies, profes7 sional societies, business associations, labor associations,

8 and other appropriate organizations.

9 (c) TERMS.—(1)(A) Subject to paragraph (2), the

10 term of office of a member of the Advisory Council shall

11 be three years.

12 (B) A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring

13 prior to the expiration of the term for which member’s

14 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the re15 mainder of that term.

16 (C) A member who has completed two consecutive full

17 terms on the Advisory Council shall not be eligible for re18 appointment until one year after the expiration of the sec19 ond such term.

20 (2) The initial members of the Advisory Council shall

21 be appointed to three classes of three members each, one

22 class having a term of one year, one a term of two years,

23 and one a term of three years.
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1 (3)(A) The Advisory Council shall meet at least quar2 terly at the call of the chair or whenever one-third of the

3 members so request in writing.

4 (B) A majority of the members of the council not hav5 ing a conflict of interest in a matter under consideration

6 by the Advisory Council shall constitute a quorum.

7 (C) Each member shall be given appropriate notice

8 of a meeting of the Advisory Council, not less than fifteen

9 days prior to any meeting, if possible.

10 (4)(A) The Advisory Council shall appoint from

11 among its members a person to serve as chair and a per12 son to serve as vice chair.

13 (B) The vice chair of the Advisory Council shall per14 form the duties of the chair in the absence of the chair.

15 (5) The Advisory Council shall review and make rec16 ommendations regarding general policy for the Agency, its

17 organization, its budget, and its programs within the

18 framework of national policies set forth by the President

19 and the Congress.

20 SEC. 6. GENERAL AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.

21 (a) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the functions of

22 the Agency, the Administrator may—

23 (1) enter into, perform, and guarantee con24 tracts, leases, grants, and cooperative agreements
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1 with any department, agency, or independent estab2 lishment of the United States or with any person;

3 (2) use the services, equipment, personnel, or

4 facilities of any other department, agency, or inde5 pendent establishment of the United States, with the

6 consent of the head of the department, agency, or

7 independent establishment and with or without reim8 bursement, and cooperate with public and private

9 entities in the use of such services, equipment, and

10 facilities;

11 (3) supervise, administer, and control the activi12 ties within the departments, agencies, and independ13 ent establishments of the United States relating to

14 patents, inventions, trademarks, copyrights, royalty

15 payments, and matters connected therewith that per16 tain to technologies relating to restoration and pro17 tection of the environment; and

18 (4) appoint one or more advisory committees or

19 councils, in addition to those established by sections

20 4(e) and 5, to consult with and advise the Adminis21 trator.

22 (b) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY.—The Adminis23 trator may transfer to the domestic private sector tech24 nology developed by or with the support of the Agency if

25 the Administrator determines that the technology may
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1 have potential application in private activities relating to

2 restoration and protection of the environment.

3 SEC. 7. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND OTHER AR4 RANGEMENTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the functions of

6 the Agency, the Administrator may enter into a coopera7 tive agreement or other arrangement with any depart8 ment, agency, or independent establishment of the United

9 States, any unit of State or local government, any edu10 cational institution, or any other public or private person

11 or entity.

12 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE PAYMENT.—(1) A coop13 erative agreement or other arrangement entered into

14 under subsection (a) may include a provision that requires

15 a person or other entity to make payments to the Agency

16 (or any other department, agency, or independent estab17 lishment of the United States) as a condition to receiving

18 assistance from the Agency under the agreement or other

19 arrangement.

20 (2) The amount of any payment received by a depart21 ment, agency, or independent establishment of the United

22 States pursuant to a provision required under paragraph

23 (1) shall be credited to the Fund in such amount as the

24 Administrator may specify.
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1 (c) NONDUPLICATION AND OTHER CONDITIONS.—

2 The Administrator shall ensure that—

3 (1) the authority under this section is used only

4 when the use of standard contracts or grants is not

5 feasible or appropriate; and

6 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, a coop7 erative agreement or other arrangement entered into

8 under this section—

9 (A) does not provide for research that du10 plicates research being conducted under other

11 programs carried out by a department, agency,

12 or independent establishment of the United

13 States; and

14 (B) requires the other party to the agree15 ment or arrangement to share the cost of the

16 project or activity concerned.

17 SEC. 8. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

18 (a) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Not later than ninety

19 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis20 trator shall publish in the Federal Register proposed cri21 teria, and not later than one hundred eighty days after

22 the date of enactment of this Act, following a public com23 ment period, final criteria, for the selection of recipients

24 of contracts, leases, grants, and cooperative agreements

25 under this Act.
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1 (b) FINANCIAL REPORTING AND AUDITING.—The

2 Administrator shall establish procedures regarding finan3 cial reporting and auditing to ensure that contracts and

4 awards are used for the purposes specified in this section,

5 are in accordance with sound accounting practices, and

6 are not funding existing or planned research programs

7 that would be conducted in the same time period in the

8 absence of financial assistance under this Act.

9 (c) ADVICE OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Ad10 ministrator shall ensure that the advice of the Advisory

11 Council is considered routinely in carrying out the respon12 sibilities of the Agency.

13 (d) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS.—The

14 Administrator shall provide for appropriate dissemination

15 of research results of the Agency’s program.

16 (e) CONTRACTS OR AWARDS; CRITERIA; RESTRIC17 TIONS.—(1) No contract or award may be made under

18 this Act until the research project in question has been

19 subject to a merit review, and has, in the opinion of the

20 reviewers appointed by the Administrator, been shown to

21 have scientific and technical merit.

22 (2) Federal funds made available under this Act shall

23 be used only for direct costs and not for indirect costs,

24 profits, or management fees of the contractor.
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1 (3) In determining whether to make an award to a

2 joint venture, the Administrator shall consider whether the

3 members of the joint venture have provided for the appro4 priate participation of small United States businesses in

5 the joint venture.

6 (4) Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, shall

7 not apply to the following information obtained by the

8 Federal Government on a confidential basis in connection

9 with the activities of any business or any joint venture

10 that receives funding under this Act:

11 (A) Information on the business operation of a

12 member of the business or joint venture.

13 (B) Trade secrets possessed by any business or

14 by a member of the joint venture.

15 (5) Intellectual property owned and developed by a

16 business or joint venture that receives funding under this

17 Act or by any member of such a joint venture may not

18 be disclosed by any officer or employee of the United

19 States except in accordance with a written agreement be20 tween the owner or developer and the Administrator.

21 (6) The United States shall be entitled to a share

22 of the licensing fees and royalty payments made to and

23 retained by a business or joint venture to which it contrib24 utes under this section in an amount proportionate to the
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1 Federal share of the costs incurred by the business or joint

2 venture, as determined by independent audit.

3 (7) A contract or award under this Act shall contain

4 appropriate provisions for discontinuance of the project

5 and return of the unspent Federal funds to the Agency

6 (after payment of all allowable costs and an audit) if—

7 (A) due to technical difficulties, financial dif8 ficulty on the part of the recipient, or for any other

9 reason, the recipient is not making satisfactory

10 progress toward successful completion of the project;

11 or

12 (B) despite satisfactory progress on the

13 progress, it appears that the project will not achieve

14 satisfactorily the goals of the project.

15 (8) Upon dissolution of a joint venture that receives

16 funding under this Act or at a time otherwise agreed upon,

17 the United States shall be entitled to a share of the resid18 ual assets of a joint venture that is proportionate to the

19 Federal share of the costs of the joint venture, as deter20 mined by independent audit.

21 SEC. 9. REVOLVING FUND.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

23 Treasury of the United States a revolving fund to be

24 known as the ‘‘Environmental Advanced Research

25 Projects Revolving Fund’’, which shall consist of such
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1 amounts as are appropriated or credited to it from time

2 to time.

3 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.—Amounts in

4 the Fund shall be available, as provided in appropriations

5 Acts, to carry out the purposes of this Act.

6 (c) LOANS, GRANTS, AND OTHER FINANCIAL ASSIST7 ANCE.—(1) The Administrator may use the Fund for the

8 purpose of making loans, grants, and other financial as9 sistance to industrial and nonprofit research centers, uni10 versities, and other entities that serve the long-term envi11 ronmental security needs of the United States, to carry

12 out the purposes of this Act.

13 (2) A loan made under this section shall bear interest

14 at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury (as

15 of the close of the calendar month preceding the month

16 in which the loan is made) to be 3 percent less than the

17 current market yield on outstanding marketable obliga18 tions of the United States with remaining periods to matu19 rity comparable to the period for which the loan is made.

20 (3) Repayments on a loan made under this section

21 and the proceeds from any other agreement entered into

22 by the Administrator under this Act shall be credited to

23 the Fund.

24 (d) MANAGEMENT OF FUND.—(1) The Secretary of

25 the Treasury shall manage the Fund and, after consulta-
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1 tion with the Administrator, report to Congress each year

2 on the financial condition and the results of the operation

3 of the Fund during the preceding fiscal year and on the

4 expected condition and operations of the Fund during the

5 next 5 fiscal years.

6 (2)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest the

7 portion of the Fund that is not, in the judgment of the

8 Secretary, required to meet current withdrawals.

9 (B) Investments of monies in the Fund may be made

10 only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States.

11 SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT.

12 The Administrator shall submit a report to Congress

13 annually describing—

14 (1) the activities of the Agency;

15 (2) the Agency’s plans for future activities;

16 (3) the manner and extent to which tech17 nologies developed with assistance from the Agency

18 have been used; and

19 (4) the extent to which those technologies have

20 been transferred overseas.

21 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS.

22 (a) AMOUNTS.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to the Agency to carry out this Act $75,000,000

24 for fiscal year 1993, $140,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,

25 and $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1995.
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1 (b) LIMITATION ON USE.—Of amounts appropriated

2 to the Agency, no more than 5 percent may be used to

3 pay for administrative expenses of the Agency.

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