Subcommittee E-Waste Drafts Legislation

Chair David Wu

On February 11 th, the House Science and Technology Committee held a hearing to discuss draft legislation that would help technology industry leaders create devices that are green through their entire lifecycles. This legislation, H.R. 1580, the Electronic Waste Research Development Act of 2009, was dropped March 18 th.

The Electronic Waste Research Development Act of 2009 would a grant program for university researchers to work with industry partners and find ways to lessen the impact of electronic products on the environment. The collaboration would foster research in improving technology for recycling, new uses for material recycled from electronics; product design to facilitate recycling and/or re-use; greener alternative to hazardous materials; tools to understand and measure the impact of electronics production and disposal of the environment and social science research to increase consumer participation in recycling and understanding of the impact of electronics on the environment.

“E-waste is a growing problem worldwide. Current sorting technology cannot differentiate the many types of plastics coming into recycling plants. This technology can be improved and research can be done to facilitate the use of mixed recycled plastics in new products,” said Chairman Bart Gordon. “We need to get engineers thinking about recycling and green design of products, and make it central to the way in which they approach their jobs.

Read more on the Committee’s work on e-waste >>

Subcommittee Jurisdiction

Committee Rule 11(a)(2)

Legislative jurisdiction and general oversight and investigative authority on all matters relating to competitiveness, technology, standards, and innovation, including:

1. standardization of weights and measures including technical standards, standardization, and conformity assessment;
2. measurement, including the metric system of measurement;
3. the Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce;
4. the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
5. the National Technical Information Service;
6. competitiveness, including small business competitiveness;
7. tax, antitrust, regulatory and other legal and governmental policies as they relate to technological development and commercialization;
8. technology transfer including civilian use of defense technologies;
9. patent and intellectual property policy;
10. international technology trade;
11. research, development, and demonstration activities of the Department of Transportation;
12. surface and water transportation research, development, and demonstration programs;
13. earthquake programs (except for NSF) and fire research programs including those related to wildfire proliferation research and prevention;
14. biotechnology policy;
15. research, development, demonstration, and standards related activities of the Department of Homeland Security;
16. Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer; and
17. voting technologies and standards.