IIB 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2850 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
To provide for the implementation of a Green Chemistry 
Research and Development Program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Green Chemistry Re-
search and Development Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘green chemistry’’ means chem-
istry and chemical engineering to design chemical 
products and processes that reduce or eliminate the 
use or generation of hazardous substances while pro-
ducing high quality products through safe and effi-
cient manufacturing processes; 
(2) the term ‘‘Interagency Working Group’’ 
means the interagency working group established 
under section 3(c); and 
(3) the term ‘‘Program’’ means the Green 
Chemistry Research and Development Program de-
scribed in section 3. 
SEC. 3. GREEN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish a 
Green Chemistry Research and Development Program to 
promote and coordinate Federal green chemistry research, 
development, education, and technology transfer activities. 
(b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro-
gram shall be designed to— 
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(1) provide sustained support for green chem-
istry research, development, education, and tech-
nology transfer through— 
(A) merit-reviewed competitive grants to 
individual investigators and teams of investiga-
tors, including, to the extent practicable, young 
investigators, for research and development; 
(B) grants to fund collaborative research 
and development partnerships among univer-
sities, industry, and nonprofit organizations; 
(C) green chemistry research, development, 
and technology transfer conducted at Federal 
laboratories; and 
(D) to the extent practicable, encourage-
ment of consideration of green chemistry in— 
(i) the conduct of Federal chemical 
science and engineering research and de-
velopment; and 
(ii) the solicitation and evaluation of 
all proposals for chemical science and engi-
neering research and development; 
(2) examine methods by which the Federal Gov-
ernment can create incentives for consideration and 
use of green chemistry processes and products; 
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(3) facilitate the adoption of green chemistry 
innovations; 
(4) expand education and training of under-
graduate and graduate students, and professional 
chemists and chemical engineers, including through 
partnerships with industry, in green chemistry 
science and engineering; 
(5) collect and disseminate information on 
green chemistry research, development, and tech-
nology transfer, including information on— 
(A) incentives and impediments to develop-
ment and commercialization; 
(B) accomplishments; 
(C) best practices; and 
(D) costs and benefits; 
(6) provide venues for outreach and dissemina-
tion of green chemistry advances such as symposia, 
forums, conferences, and written materials in col-
laboration with, as appropriate, industry, academia, 
scientific and professional societies, and other rel-
evant groups; 
(7) support economic, legal, and other appro-
priate social science research to identify barriers to 
commercialization and methods to advance commer-
cialization of green chemistry; and 
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(8) provide for public input and outreach to be 
integrated into the Program by the convening of 
public discussions, through mechanisms such as cit-
izen panels, consensus conferences, and educational 
events, as appropriate. 
(c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The President 
shall establish an Interagency Working Group, which shall 
include representatives from the National Science Founda-
tion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and any other agency that the President may des-
ignate. The Director of the National Science Foundation 
and the Assistant Administrator for Research and Devel-
opment of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
serve as co-chairs of the Interagency Working Group. The 
Interagency Working Group shall oversee the planning, 
management, and coordination of the Program. The Inter-
agency Working Group shall— 
(1) establish goals and priorities for the Pro-
gram, to the extent practicable in consultation with 
green chemistry researchers and potential end-users 
of green chemistry products and processes; and 
(2) provide for interagency coordination, includ-
ing budget coordination, of activities under the Pro-
gram. 
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(d) AGENCY BUDGET REQUESTS.—Each Federal 
agency and department participating in the Program 
shall, as part of its annual request for appropriations to 
the Office of Management and Budget, submit a report 
to the Office of Management and Budget which identifies 
its activities that contribute directly to the Program and 
states the portion of its request for appropriations that 
is allocated to those activities. The President shall include 
in his annual budget request to Congress a statement of 
the portion of each agency’s or department’s annual budg-
et request allocated to its activities undertaken pursuant 
to the Program. 
(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency 
Working Group shall transmit a report to the Committee 
on Science and Technology of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate. This report shall include— 
(1) a summary of federally funded green chem-
istry research, development, demonstration, edu-
cation, and technology transfer activities, including 
the green chemistry budget for each of these activi-
ties; and 
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(2) an analysis of the progress made toward 
achieving the goals and priorities for the Program, 
and recommendations for future program activities. 
SEC. 4. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER GREEN SUP-
PLIERS NETWORK GRANT PROGRAM. 
Section 25(a) of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(4); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) the enabling of supply chain manufactur-
ers to continuously improve products and processes, 
increase energy efficiency, increase recycling, iden-
tify cost-saving opportunities, and optimize resources 
and technologies with the aim of reducing or elimi-
nating the use or generation of hazardous sub-
stances.’’. 
SEC. 5. UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN CHEMISTRY AND 
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—(1) As part of the Pro-
gram activities under section 3(b)(4), the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall carry out a program 
to award grants to institutions of higher education to sup-
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port efforts by such institutions to revise their under-
graduate curriculum in chemistry and chemical engineer-
ing to incorporate green chemistry concepts and strate-
gies. 
(2) Grants shall be awarded under this section on a 
competitive, merit-reviewed basis and shall require cost 
sharing in cash from non-Federal sources, to match the 
Federal funding. 
(b) SELECTION PROCESS.—(1) An institution of 
higher education seeking funding under this section shall 
submit an application to the Director at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Director 
may require. Minority Serving Institutions shall receive 
due consideration for such funding. The application shall 
include at a minimum— 
(A) a description of the content and schedule 
for adoption of the proposed curricular revisions to 
the courses of study offered by the applicant in 
chemistry and chemical engineering; and 
(B) a description of the source and amount of 
cost sharing to be provided. 
(2) In evaluating the applications submitted under 
paragraph (1), the Director shall consider, at a min-
imum— 
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(A) the level of commitment demonstrated by 
the applicant in carrying out and sustaining lasting 
curriculum changes in accordance with subsection 
(a)(1); and 
(B) the amount of cost sharing to be provided. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to amounts authorized under section 8, from sums 
otherwise authorized to be appropriated by the National 
Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Science 
Foundation for carrying out this section $7,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2008, $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2009, and 
$8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 
SEC. 6. STUDY ON COMMERCIALIZATION OF GREEN CHEM-
ISTRY. 
(a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Science 
Foundation shall enter into an arrangement with the Na-
tional Research Council to conduct a study of the factors 
that constitute barriers to the successful commercial appli-
cation of promising results from green chemistry research 
and development. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The study shall— 
(1) examine successful and unsuccessful at-
tempts at commercialization of green chemistry in 
the United States and abroad; and 
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(2) recommend research areas and priorities 
and public policy options that would help to over-
come identified barriers to commercialization. 
(c) REPORT.—The Director shall submit a report to 
the Committee on Science and Technology of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the findings 
and recommendations of the study within 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. PARTNERSHIPS IN GREEN CHEMISTRY. 
(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—(1) The agencies par-
ticipating in the Program shall carry out a joint, coordi-
nated program to award grants to institutions of higher 
education to establish partnerships with companies in the 
chemical industry to retrain chemists and chemical engi-
neers in the use of green chemistry concepts and strate-
gies. 
(2) Grants shall be awarded under this section on a 
competitive, merit-reviewed basis and shall require cost 
sharing from non-Federal sources by members of the part-
nerships. 
(3) In order to be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an institution of higher education shall enter 
into a partnership with two or more companies in the 
chemical industry. Such partnerships may also include 
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other institutions of higher education and professional as-
sociations. 
(4) Grants awarded under this section shall be used 
for activities to provide retraining for chemists or chemical 
engineers in green chemistry, including— 
(A) the development of curricular materials and 
the designing of undergraduate and graduate level 
courses; and 
(B) publicizing the availability of professional 
development courses of study in green chemistry and 
recruiting graduate scientists and engineers to pur-
sue such courses. 
Grants may provide stipends for individuals enrolled in 
courses developed by the partnership. 
(b) SELECTION PROCESS.—(1) An institution of 
higher education seeking funding under this section shall 
submit an application at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as shall be specified by the 
Interagency Working Group and published in a proposal 
solicitation for the Program. The application shall include 
at a minimum— 
(A) a description of the partnership and the 
role each member will play in implementing the pro-
posal; 
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