WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2004 – In recognition of Earth Day, tomorrow, the House of Representatives today passed H.R. 3970, the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2004 by a vote of 402 to 14.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Phil Gingrey (R-GA), establishes a focused federal effort to discover and develop environmentally-friendly alternatives to current chemical products and processes that pose serious health hazards and further pollute our environment.

Mr. Gingrey stated, “The green chemistry legislation will move us more quickly toward cleaner, cheaper chemical processes. U.S. industries have already taken steps in that direction and this bill will demonstrate that green chemistry is a congressional priority in federal research. The majority of environmental protection laws passed by Congress focus on treating pollution – limiting the spread of pollutants, cleaning up waste, or assessing fines to polluters. But I believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We should be devoting considerably more effort toward finding ways to prevent pollution in the first place rather than mitigating hazards after they have already been created. This bill passed by the House today does just that.”

Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said, “Green chemistry benefits companies and workers, the economy and the environment. It’s really just the application of an old adage – ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ If we reduce to ounces the quantity of toxic chemicals we use and produce, then we won’t have to clean up pounds of toxics downstream. And this bill takes a sensible, targeted approach to putting some federal dollars behind those prevention efforts. It builds on existing programs at a number of federal agencies to transform those small and scattered efforts into a focused, coordinated, and enhanced national program.”

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), the lead Democrat co-sponsor of the bill, said, “This Green Chemistry Research and Development Act is a first step to increasing the use of renewable fuels, encourage manufacturing processes that generate less toxic waste and promote the development of materials which can be easily recycled. I am pleased that my colleague, Congressman Gingrey, has introduced the Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2004, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation.”

There is currently a smattering of green chemistry-related research and development (R&D) initiatives dispersed across the federal government. H.R. 3970 consolidates the federal R&D investment into a coordinated, sustained effort among the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Department of Energy. The bill authorizes $26 million for the R&D program for Fiscal-Year 2005, but it does not increase federal spending. Rather, it utilizes existing funds within the agencies’ budgets.

Gingrey’s bill is supported by, among others, the American Chemical Society, and by Rohm and Haas Company, a worldwide producer of specialty chemicals with more than 100 plants and research facilities in 26 countries.

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

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108-231