Title: Chemical Assessment Improvement Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Chemical Assessment Improvement Act
This bill modifies procedures related to specified chemical assessments performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Specifically, chemical hazard identification and dose response assessments, currently performed by the Integrated Risk Information System program, must be performed by the appropriate EPA program office.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6399 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6399

    To direct that certain assessments with respect to toxicity of 
 chemicals be carried out by the program offices of the Environmental 
               Protection Agency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2018

Mr. Biggs (for himself, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Norman, Mr. 
 Rohrabacher, Mr. Posey, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Babin, Mr. Higgins of 
   Louisiana, Mrs. Lesko, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Webster of 
  Florida, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Westerman, and Mr. Moolenaar) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct that certain assessments with respect to toxicity of 
 chemicals be carried out by the program offices of the Environmental 
               Protection Agency, 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 ``Chemical Assessment Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND DOSE RESPONSE ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, any covered assessments carried out with respect to a chemical 
substance through the Integrated Risk Information System program of the 
Environmental Protection Agency as of the day before such date of 
enactment shall, in lieu of being carried out through such program, be 
carried out by the relevant program office of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, so long as the relevant program office determines 
there is a need for such an assessment. Such an assessment shall be 
carried out using scientific standards specified in section 4 and be 
based on the weight of the scientific evidence.
    (b) Toxicity Values.--In carrying out such an assessment with 
respect to a chemical substance under subsection (a), the relevant 
program office shall assign a toxicity value or values, when 
scientifically supported by the available data, for such chemical 
substance. With respect to that assignment, the following shall apply:
            (1) When supported by the available data, the toxicity 
        value or values shall include a range of point estimates of 
        risk as well as sources and magnitudes of uncertainty 
        associated with the estimates.
            (2) When multiple point estimates can be developed, the 
        relevant program office shall--
                    (A) consider all datasets; and
                    (B) make a determination about how best to 
                represent the human health risk posed by the chemical 
                substance involved.
    (c) Chemical Assessment Database.--
            (1) In general.--A toxicity value or values assigned to a 
        chemical substance under subsection (b) shall be included in a 
        chemical assessment database to be maintained by the Office of 
        Research and Development of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency.
            (2) Completed assessments.--All covered assessments stored, 
        as of the date of the enactment of this Act, in the IRIS 
        database of the Environmental Protection Agency shall be 
        retained in the chemical assessment database established 
        pursuant to paragraph (1).
            (3) Updates.--Such database shall be updated pursuant to a 
        covered assessment performed by a relevant program office, 
        including to make a change in the existing toxicity value or 
        values for a chemical substance included in such database.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``covered assessment'' means, with respect to 
        the evaluation of the human health effects resulting from 
        chronic exposure to a chemical substance, a chemical hazard 
        identification and dose response assessment (as such terms are 
        defined by the Environmental Protection Agency on the day 
        before the date of the enactment of this Act).
            (2) The term ``relevant program office'' includes the 
        following offices of the Environmental Protection Agency:
                    (A) The Office of Water.
                    (B) The Office of Air and Radiation.
                    (C) The Office of Land and Emergency Management.
                    (D) The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
                Prevention.
                    (E) Any successor to an office specified in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D) and any other office 
                determined to be relevant by the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency.

SEC. 3. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND DOSE RESPONSE STEERING COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (referred to in this Act as the ``Administrator'') 
shall establish a chemical hazard identification and dose response 
steering committee (referred to in this Act as the ``steering 
committee'') to coordinate the conduct of covered assessments by 
relevant program offices for purposes of ensuring that, with respect to 
such assessments, there is no duplication of effort by such offices. 
    (b) Duty.--The duties of the steering committee are the following:
            (1) If the steering committee learns that more than one 
        relevant program office intends to conduct covered assessments 
        with respect to the same chemical substance, the steering 
        committee shall determine the most effective means of carrying 
        out a single covered assessment to prevent duplication of 
        effort by such offices.
            (2) For purposes of supplementing a covered assessment, the 
        steering committee shall consider any third-party assessment of 
        a chemical substance generated by another Federal, State, or 
        international agency or agencies or members of the scientific 
        community that meets the requirements specified in subsection 
        (e).
    (c) Chair; Composition.--
            (1) Chair.--The steering committee shall be chaired by the 
        Assistant Administrator of the Office of Research and 
        Development of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Composition.--The steering committee shall be composed 
        of 15 members, all of whom shall be active, full-time employees 
        of the Environmental Protection Agency, with at least one 
        member representing each relevant program office and each 
        regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency. The 
        members of the steering committee shall be appointed by the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Any 
        vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the initial 
        appointment.
    (d) Meetings.--The steering committee shall meet at least once each 
calendar year.
    (e) Third-Party Assessment Requirements.--The requirements 
specified in this subsection with respect to a third-party assessment 
of a chemical substance are that the assessment--
            (1) is conducted using scientific standards specified in 
        section 4;
            (2) has undergone independent scientific review for 
        transparency, completeness, and quality; and
            (3) reflects the best available science and the weight of 
        the available scientific evidence.

SEC. 4. SCIENTIFIC STANDARDS.

     Covered assessments carried out under section 2 and discussion of 
such assessments and review of third-party assessments carried out 
under section 3, shall be conducted using scientific information, 
technical procedures, measures, methods, protocols, methodologies, or 
models in a manner consistent with the best available science. In 
carrying out such an assessment, the relevant program office shall 
integrate all lines of scientific evidence and consider, as 
applicable--
            (1) the extent to which the scientific information, 
        technical procedures, measures, methods, protocols, 
        methodologies, or models employed to generate the scientific 
        information are reasonable for and consistent with the intended 
        use of the scientific information;
            (2) the extent to which the scientific information is 
        relevant for the relevant program office's use in making a 
        decision about a chemical substance;
            (3) the degree of clarity and completeness with which the 
        data, assumptions, methods, quality assurance, analyses 
        employed to generate the scientific information are documented 
        and publicly available in a manner that honors legal and 
        ethical obligations to reduce the risks of unauthorized 
        disclosure and re-identification;
            (4) the extent to which the variability and uncertainty in 
        the scientific information, or in the procedures, measures, 
        methods, protocols, methodologies, or models, are evaluated and 
        characterized;
            (5) the extent of independent verification or peer review 
        of the scientific information or of the procedures, measures, 
        methods, protocols, methodologies, or models;
            (6) the ability of the scientific findings and research to 
        be replicated or reproduced; and
            (7) the extent to which the available scientific 
        information supports dose-response modeling, using non-linear 
        approaches.
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