,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gcdh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #be1 #bjbj,mrs4 ,fletcher 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,slotkin1 and ,mr4 ,posey7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology ,a ,,bill ,to provide for the ,national ,academies to study and report on a ,federal research agenda to advance the understanding of ,,pfas1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal ,,pfas ,research ,evaluation ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances 7,,pfas7 are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a wide range of products since the #aidjs including firefighting foam1 carpeting1 packaging1 and cookware4 ,there are more than #e1jjj types of registered ,,pfas compounds4 ,this chemical class is not currently regulated at the ,federal level4 7#b7 ,,pfas have been detected in air1 water1 soil1 food1 biosolids1 and more4 ,they accumulate and remain in the body for a long time1 and can lead to serious health effects including cancer1 low infant birthweight1 liver and kidney issues1 reproductive and developmental problems1 and more4 7#c7 ,there remains much unknown about ,,pfas toxicity1 human and environmental health effects1 exposure pathways1 as well as effective removal1 treatment1 and destruction methods1 and safe alternatives to ,,pfas4 7#d7 ,there is currently no cohesive1 interagency effort to address ,,pfas1 and no ,federal agency is focused on a multidisciplinary1 cross-sector approach4 ,rather1 there are fragmented efforts at various agencies that have failed to address the full scope of challenges presented by ,,pfas4 7#e7 ,regulatory action and cleanup depend on scientific analysis of toxicity data1 decision making on how best to deal with the thousands of ,,pfas1 and understanding the significance of the many exposure pathways that exist4 ,a consensus study by the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine would help inform decisions by ,federal and ,state ,governments1 industry1 and other stakeholders on how to best address ,,pfas4 #c4 ,national ,academies reports 7a7 ,research assessments of ,,pfas exposure and toxicity 7#a7 ,in ,general ,not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 the ,director of the ,national ,institutes of ,health1 and other ,federal agencies with expertise relevant to understanding ,,pfas exposure and toxicity1 shall enter into an agreement with the ,national ,academies to conduct a two-phase study and submit reports in accordance with this subsection to identify research and development needed to advance human exposure estimation and toxicity and hazard estimation of individual or total ,,pfas4 7#b7 ,phase ,i study and report on human exposure estimation 7,a7 ,in general ,the phase ,i study required to be conducted under paragraph 7#a7 shall1 at a minimum-- 7i7 consider life-cycle information on the manufacture1 use1 and disposal of ,,pfas-containing products to identify exposure sources and potential exposure pathways for the public2 7ii7 evaluate the fate and transport of ,,pfas and their breakdown products2 7iii7 if feasible1 estimate exposure to individual or total ,,pfas to determine relative source contributions for various exposure pathways 7such as air1 water1 soil1 or food72 7iv7 determine environmentally relevant ,,pfas2 and 7v7 identify research needed to advance exposure estimation to individual or total ,,pfas4 7,b7 ,report ,not later than #bgj days after the date on which the agreement described in paragraph 7#a7 is finalized1 the ,national ,academies shall submit to ,congress a report containing the findings and recommendations of the study described in subparagraph 7,a7 and shall make such report available on a publicly accessible website4 7#c7 ,phase ,,ii study and report on ,,pfas toxicity and hazard estimation 7,a7 ,in general ,the phase ,,ii study required to be conducted under paragraph 7#a7 shall1 at a minimum-- 7i7 review animal and human toxicity information on the environmentally relevant ,,pfas identified in the ,phase ,i report under paragraph 7#b7 and develop an approach for conducting a hazard assessment of these ,,pfas2 7ii7 give consideration as to whether chemical category-based approaches for assessing toxicity would be appropriate for evaluating ,,pfas as a group2 and 7iii7 identify research needed to advance toxicity and hazard assessment of individual or total ,,pfas4 7,b7 ,report ,not later than #bgj days after the date on which the ,phase ,i report is submitted to ,congress under paragraph 7#b71 the ,national ,academies shall submit to ,congress a report containing the findings and recommendations of the study described in subparagraph 7,a7 and shall make such report available on a publicly accessible website4 7b7 ,research assessment of management and treatment alternatives for ,,pfas contamination in the environment 7#a7 ,in ,general ,not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency and the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,defense and other ,federal agencies with expertise relevant to the development of ,,pfas alternatives and the management and treatment of ,,pfas1 shall jointly enter into an agreement with the ,national ,academies to conduct a study and submit a report in accordance with this subsection to better understand the research and development needed to advance the understanding of the extent and implications of environmental contamination by ,,pfas1 how to manage and treat such contamination1 and the development of safe alternatives4 7#b7 ,scope of study ,the study described in paragraph 7#a7 shall1 at a minimum1 include the following3 7,a7 ,an assessment of the current research on such issues4 7,b7 ,a description of the research gaps relating to such issues4 7,c7 ,recommendations on how the ,federal ,government can address the research needs identified pursuant to subparagraph 7,b74 7,d7 ,recommendations on how research can best incorporate considerations of socioeconomic issues into the development of research proposals and the conduct of research4 7#c7 ,report ,not later than #edj days after the date on which the agreement described in paragraph 7#a7 is finalized1 the ,national ,academies shall submit to ,congress a report containing the findings and recommendations of the study described in paragraph 7#b7 and shall make such report available on a publicly accessible website4 7c7 ,authorization of ,appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section-- 7#a7 to the ,administrator of ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 #c1jjj1jjj2 and 7#b7 to the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 #a1jjj1jjj4 #d4 ,implementation plan ,not later than #ahj days after submission to ,congress of latest of the ,national ,academies reports under section #c1 the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy1 in coordination with all relevant ,federal agencies1 shall submit to ,congress an implementation plan for ,federal ,,pfas research1 development1 and demonstration activities4 ,in preparing such an implementation plan1 the ,director shall take into consideration the recommendations included in the reports in section #c4 #e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,national ,academies ,the term ,national ,academies means the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine4 7#b7 ,,pfas ,the term ,,pfas means per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances4