hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, 
limitation, or regulation and published in the 
Federal Register.’’. 
(d) MEMBER COMMITTEES AND INVESTIGATIVE PAN-
ELS.—Section 8(e)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
4365(e)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘These member committees and investigative pan-
els— 
‘‘(i) shall be constituted and operate 
in accordance with the provisions set forth 
in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 
(b), in subsection (h), and in subsection 
(i); 
‘‘(ii) do not have authority to make 
decisions on behalf of the Board; and 
‘‘(iii) may not report directly to the 
Environmental Protection Agency.’’. 
(e) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Section 8 of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 4365) is amended by amending subsection (h) 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(h)(1) To facilitate public participation in the advi-
sory activities of the Board, the Administrator and the 
Board shall make public all reports and relevant scientific 
information and shall provide materials to the public at 
the same time as received by members of the Board. 
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‘‘(2) Prior to conducting major advisory activities, the 
Board shall hold a public information-gathering session to 
discuss the state of the science related to the advisory ac-
tivity. 
‘‘(3) Prior to convening a member committee or in-
vestigative panel under subsection (e) or requesting sci-
entific advice from the Board, the Administrator shall ac-
cept, consider, and address public comments on questions 
to be asked of the Board. The Board, member committees, 
and investigative panels shall accept, consider, and ad-
dress public comments on such questions and shall not ac-
cept a question that unduly narrows the scope of an advi-
sory activity. 
‘‘(4) The Administrator and the Board shall encour-
age public comments, including oral comments and discus-
sion during the proceedings, that shall not be limited by 
an insufficient or arbitrary time restriction. Public com-
ments shall be provided to the Board when received, and 
shall be published in the Federal Register grouped by com-
mon themes. If multiple repetitious comments are re-
ceived, only one such comment shall be published along 
with the number of such repetitious comments received. 
Any report made public by the Board shall include written 
responses to significant comments, including those that 
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present an alternative hypothesis-based scientific point of 
view, offered by members of the public to the Board. 
‘‘(5) Following Board meetings, the public shall be 
given 15 calendar days to provide additional comments for 
consideration by the Board.’’. 
(f) OPERATIONS.—Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
4365) is further amended by amending subsection (i) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(i)(1) In carrying out its advisory activities, the 
Board shall strive to avoid making policy determinations 
or recommendations, and, in the event the Board feels 
compelled to offer policy advice, shall explicitly distinguish 
between scientific determinations and policy advice. 
‘‘(2) The Board shall clearly communicate uncertain-
ties associated with the scientific advice provided to the 
Administrator or Congress. 
‘‘(3) The Board shall ensure that advice and com-
ments reflect the views of the members and shall encour-
age dissenting members to make their views known to the 
public, the Administrator, and Congress. 
‘‘(4) The Board shall conduct periodic reviews to en-
sure that its advisory activities are addressing the most 
important scientific issues affecting the Environmental 
Protection Agency. 
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‘‘(5) The Board shall be fully and timely responsive 
to Congress.’’. 
SEC. 3. RELATION TO THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE ACT. 
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act shall be construed as supplanting the requirements of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 
SEC. 4. RELATION TO THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 
1978. 
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act shall be construed as supplanting the requirements of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 
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Union Calendar No. 35 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1431 
[Report No. 115–63] 
A BILL 
To amend the Environmental Research, Develop-
ment, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 
1978 to provide for Scientific Advisory Board 
member qualifications, public participation, and 
for other purposes. 
MARCH 27, 2017 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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