I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2224

To establish the Office of National Environmental Technologies, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 20, 1993

Mr. KENNEDY 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 Office of National Environmental

Technologies, 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 ‘‘Office of National En5 vironmental Technologies Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 It is the purpose of this Act—

8 (1) to improve coordination and integration of

9 research and development performed by government
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1 agencies and that performed through government2 awarded contracts and grants; and

3 (2) to assist the efforts of private industry, uni4 versities, nonprofit research centers, and government

5 laboratories to provide environmentally safe tech6 nical solutions to problems threatening the Nation’s

7 environmental security and, in the process, to help

8 the Nation’s competitiveness.

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

10 For the purposes of this Act—

11 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad12 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

13 (2) the term ‘‘Advisory Council’’ means the In14 dustry and Academia Advisory Council established

15 by section 5;

16 (3) the term ‘‘Assistant Administrator’’ means

17 the Assistant Administrator, Office of National En18 vironmental Technologies, Environmental Protection

19 Agency;

20 (4) the term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Environmental

21 Advanced Research Projects Revolving Fund estab22 lished by section 9; and

23 (5) the term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Na24 tional Environmental Technologies established pur25 suant to section 4.
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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Administrator shall

3 establish within the Environmental Protection Agency an

4 Office of National Environmental Technologies to be head5 ed by an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental

6 Protection Agency. The duties and responsibilities of the

7 Administrator set forth in this Act shall be carried out

8 through the Office.

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

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

11 ‘‘Assistant Administrator, Office of National

12 Environmental Technologies, Environmental Protec13 tion Agency.’’.

14 (b) STAFF.—The Administrator may appoint a staff

15 of professionals with skills in the area of program defini16 tion and management and such support staff as the Ad17 ministrator determines to be necessary, of which no more

18 than 3 may be in positions of a confidential or policy19 making character.

20 (c) FUNCTIONS.—It shall be the function of the Of21 fice to—

22 (1) coordinate planning by the departments,

23 agencies, and independent establishments of the

24 United States relating to restoration and protection

25 of the environment;

26 (2) identify areas that—
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1 (A) need technical solutions to maintain

2 the environmental security of the Nation;

3 (B) are not receiving the long-term prod4 uct-oriented research that is necessary to meet

5 those needs; and

6 (C) exhibit the greatest promise for the

7 successful development of solutions;

8 (3) support and assist the development of tech9 nology having potential future application in the res10 toration and protection of the environment;

11 (4) coordinate among the departments, agen12 cies, independent establishments of the United

13 States and the private sector the exchange of tech14 nological information relating to restoration and pro15 tection of the environment;

16 (5) support continuing research and develop17 ment of advanced technologies by industrial, aca18 demic, and governmental and nongovernmental

19 entities;

20 (6) monitor on a continuing basis the research

21 and development being conducted on advanced tech22 nologies by private industry in the United States;

23 and

24 (7) promote continuing development of a tech25 nological industrial base in the United States.
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1 (d) INTERAGENCY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—(1)

2 There is established an interagency advisory committee

3 composed of—

4 (A) the Administrator, who shall be chair of the

5 committee;

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

7 Technology Policy, or the Director’s designee;

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

9 designee;

10 (D) the Secretary of Commerce, or the Sec11 retary’s designee;

12 (E) the Secretary of State, or the Secretary’s

13 designee;

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

15 designee;

16 (G) the Administrator of the National Aero17 nautics and Space Administration, or the Adminis18 trator’s designee;

19 (H) the Secretary of the Interior, or the Sec20 retary’s designee; and

21 (I) the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Sec22 retary’s designee.

23 (2) The interagency advisory committee shall advise

24 and provide information to the Office with respect to the
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1 needs and concerns of their agencies in the field of envi2 ronmental technologies.

3 SEC. 5. INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA ADVISORY COUNCIL.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the In5 dustry and Academia Advisory Council.

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

7 consist of 9 members appointed by the Administrator, at

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

9 (2) The persons appointed as members of the Advi10 sory Council—

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

12 research, new product development, engineering,

13 labor, education, management consulting, environ14 ment, and international relations;

15 (B) shall be selected solely on the basis of es16 tablished records of distinguished service; and

17 (C) shall not be employees of the Federal Gov18 ernment.

19 (3) In making appointments of persons as members

20 of the Advisory Council, the Administrator shall give due

21 consideration to any recommendations that may be sub22 mitted to the Director by the National Academies, profes23 sional societies, business associations, labor associations,

24 and other appropriate organizations.
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1 (c) TERMS.—(1)(A) Subject to paragraph (2), the

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

3 be 3 years.

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

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

6 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the re7 mainder of that term.

8 (C) A member who has completed 2 consecutive full

9 terms on the Advisory Council shall not be eligible for re10 appointment until 1 year after the expiration of the second

11 such term.

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

13 be appointed to three classes of 3 members each, one class

14 having a term of 1 year, one a term of 2 years, and one

15 a term of 3 years.

16 (3)(A) The Advisory Council shall meet at least quar17 terly at the call of the chair or whenever one-third of the

18 members so request in writing.

19 (B) A majority of the members of the council not hav20 ing a conflict of interest in a matter under consideration

21 by the Advisory Council shall constitute a quorum.

22 (C) Each member shall be given appropriate notice

23 of a meeting of the Advisory Council, not less than 15

24 days prior to any meeting, if possible.
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1 (4)(A) The Advisory Council shall appoint from

2 among its members a person to serve as chair and a per3 son to serve as vice chair.

4 (B) The vice chair of the Advisory Council shall per5 form the duties of the chair in the absence of the chair.

6 (5) The Advisory Council shall review and make rec7 ommendations regarding general policy for the Office, its

8 organization, its budget, and its programs within the

9 framework of national policies set forth by the President

10 and the Congress.

11 SEC. 6. GENERAL AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.

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

13 the Office, the Administrator may—

14 (1) enter into, perform, and guarantee con15 tracts, leases, grants, and cooperative agreements

16 with any department, agency, or independent estab17 lishment of the United States or with any person;

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

19 facilities of any other department, agency, or inde20 pendent establishment of the United States, with the

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

22 independent establishment and with or without reim23 bursement, and cooperate with public and private

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

25 facilities;
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1 (3) supervise, administer, and control the activi2 ties within the departments, agencies, and independ3 ent establishments of the United States relating to

4 patents, inventions, trademarks, copyrights, royalty

5 payments, and matters connected therewith that per6 tain to technologies relating to restoration and pro7 tection of the environment; and

8 (4) appoint 1 or more advisory committees or

9 councils, in addition to those established by sections

10 4(d) and 5, to consult with and advise the Adminis11 trator.

12 (b) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY.—The Adminis13 trator may transfer to the domestic private sector tech14 nology developed by or with the support of the Office if

15 the Administrator determines that the technology may

16 have potential application in private activities relating to

17 restoration and protection of the environment.

18 SEC. 7. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND OTHER AR19 RANGEMENTS.

20 (a) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the functions of

21 the Office, the Administrator may enter into a cooperative

22 agreement or other arrangement with any department,

23 agency, or independent establishment of the United

24 States, any unit of State or local government, any edu-
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1 cational institution, or any other public or private person

2 or entity.

3 (b) COOPERATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

4 heads of departments and agencies shall cooperate fully

5 with the Administrator—

6 (1) in carrying out the functions of the Office;

7 (2) in establishing appropriate interagency

8 agreements to develop cooperative programs and im9 prove coordination and integration of environmental

10 research and development; and

11 (3) to avoid unnecessary duplication.

12 (c) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE PAYMENT.—(1) A co13 operative 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 Office

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

18 assistance from the Office 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 (d) 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 90 days

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

20 shall publish in the Federal Register proposed criteria,

21 and not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

22 of this Act, following a public comment period, final cri23 teria, for the selection of recipients of contracts, leases,

24 grants, and cooperative agreements 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 Office.

13 (d) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS.—The

14 Administrator shall provide for appropriate dissemination

15 of research results of the Office’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 Office

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

7 appears that, due to technical difficulties, financial dif8 ficulty on the part of the recipient, or for any other reason,

9 the recipient is not making satisfactory progress toward

10 successful completion of the project.

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

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

13 the United States shall be entitled to a share of the resid14 ual assets of a joint venture that is proportionate to the

15 Federal share of the costs of the joint venture, as deter16 mined by independent audit.

17 SEC. 9. REVOLVING FUND.

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

19 Treasury of the United States a revolving fund to be

20 known as the ‘‘Environmental Advanced Research

21 Projects Revolving Fund’’, which shall consist of such

22 amounts as are appropriated or credited to it from time

23 to time.
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1 (b) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.—Amounts in

2 the Fund shall be available, as provided in appropriations

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

4 (c) LOANS, GRANTS, AND OTHER FINANCIAL ASSIST5 ANCE.—(1) The Administrator may use the Fund for the

6 purpose of making loans, grants, and other financial as7 sistance to industrial and nonprofit research centers, uni8 versities, and other entities that serve the long-term envi9 ronmental security needs of the United States, to carry

10 out the purposes of this Act.

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

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

13 of the close of the calendar month preceding the month

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

15 current market yield on outstanding marketable obliga16 tions of the United States with remaining periods to matu17 rity comparable to the period for which the loan is made.

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

19 and the proceeds from any other agreement entered into

20 by the Administrator under this Act shall be credited to

21 the Fund.

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

23 the Treasury shall manage the Fund and, after consulta24 tion with the Administrator, report to Congress each year

25 on the financial condition and the results of the operation
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1 of the Fund during the preceding fiscal year and on the

2 expected condition and operations of the Fund during the

3 next 5 fiscal years.

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

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

6 Secretary, required to meet current withdrawals.

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

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

9 SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT.

10 The Administrator shall submit a report to Congress

11 annually describing—

12 (1) the activities of the Office;

13 (2) the Office’s plans for future activities;

14 (3) the manner and extent to which tech15 nologies developed with assistance from the Office

16 have been used; and

17 (4) the extent to which those technologies have

18 been transferred overseas.

19 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS.

20 (a) AMOUNTS.—There are authorized to be appro21 priated to carry out the purposes of this Act $85,000,000

22 for fiscal year 1994, $165,000,000 for fiscal year 1995,

23 and $250,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
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1 (b) LIMITATION ON USE.—Of amounts appropriated

2 under subsection (a), no more than 5 percent may be used

3 to pay for administrative expenses of the Office.

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