House Renews Push for Green Chemistry Bill

LEGISLATION

Representative Phil Gingrey (R., GA) has reintroduced a bill that would establish a federal green chemistry research program using existing funds from EPA and other federal agencies. The bill passed the House last year 402-14, but did not pass the Senate.

The bill’s sponsors say they expect a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate in the next several weeks. The legislation defines green chemistry as “chemistry and chemical engineering to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances while producing high quality products through safe and efficient manufacturing processes.”

The bill would establish an interagency working group that would oversee support of green chemistry innovations, drawing on staff from EPA, the National Science Foundation (Arlington, VA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD), the Department of Energy, and other agencies. The group would be required to issue a report to Congress within two years of the bill’s enactment, providing a summary of federally funded research, and an analysis of the progress made.

ACC says it supports the establishment of the green chemistry program, and that a federal interagency effort to coordinate green chemistry R&D would “increase efficiency and help identify appropriate goals for a federal green chemistry R&D program.”

Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R., NY) cosponsored the bill. – KS

Copyright Chemical Week Associates Mar 23, 2005