US House passes sustainable chemistry bill

Federal science agencies will work together to develop a road map for sustainable chemistry under a bipartisan bill passed Dec. 9 by the US House of Representatives. H.R. 2015 tells the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to convene federal agencies to coordinate their work around sustainable chemistry and develop the road map. The road map would assess the state of sustainable chemistry, including challenges to its adoption, and lay out ways for the government to promote sustainable chemistry. The American Chemical Society advocated for the bill. (ACS publishes C&EN.) A similar bill (S. 999) has been introduced in the US Senate. It is unlikely to pass before the end of the year, but it could come up again in 2020. H.R. 2051 was one of five House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology bills that passed in one day. Other topics included collecting data about science and science education at minority-serving institutions, enhancing National Science Foundation support for early childhood science education, and creating a federal engineering biology research initiative.