,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #c1 #bjai,mr4 ,biggs introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct that certain assessments with respect to toxicity of chemicals be carried out by the program offices of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,improving ,science in ,chemical ,assessments ,act4 #b4 ,research needs and priorities of ,,epa program offices ,the ,environmental ,research1 ,development1 and ,demonstration ,authorization ,act is amended by striking section #g 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dcfd7 and inserting the following3 #g4 ,research needs and priorities of ,,epa program offices 7a7 ,in general ,the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency shall assure that the expenditure of any funds appropriated pursuant to this ,act or any other provision of law for environmental research and development related to regulatory program activities shall be coordinated with and reflect the research needs and priorities of the relevant program offices1 as well as the overall research needs and priorities of the ,agency1 including those defined in the five-year research plan4 7b7 ,hazard identification and dose-,response assessments ,beginning on the date of the enactment of the ,improving ,science in ,chemical ,assessments ,act1 any covered assessments carried out with respect to a chemical substance through the ,integrated ,risk ,information ,system program of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency as of the day before such date of enactment shall1 in lieu of being carried out through such program1 be carried out by the relevant program office of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 so long as the relevant program office determines there is a need for such an assessment4 ,such an assessment shall be carried out using the scientific standards specified in section #g;,b and be based on the weight of the scientific evidence4 7c7 ,toxicity values ,in carrying out a covered assessment with respect to a chemical substance under subsection 7a71 the relevant program office shall assign a toxicity value or values1 when scientifically supported by the available data1 for such chemical substance4 ,with respect to that assignment1 the following shall apply3 7#a7 ,when supported by the available data1 the toxicity value or values shall include a range of point estimates of risk as well as sources and magnitudes of uncertainty associated with the estimates4 7#b7 ,when multiple point estimates can be developed1 the relevant program office shall-- 7,a7 consider all datasets2 and 7,b7 make a determination about how best to represent the human health risk posed by the chemical substance involved4 7d7 ,chemical assessment database 7#a7 ,in general ,a toxicity value or values assigned to a chemical substance under subsection 7c7 shall be included in a chemical assessment database to be maintained by the ,office of ,research and ,development of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 7#b7 ,completed assessments ,all covered assessments stored1 as of the date of the enactment of this ,act1 in the ,,iris database of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency shall be retained in the chemical assessment database established pursuant to paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,updates ,such database shall be updated pursuant to a covered assessment performed by a relevant program office1 including to make a change in the existing toxicity value or values for a chemical substance included in such database4 7e7 ,certification ,beginning #b years after the date of the enactment of the ,improving ,science in ,chemical ,assessments ,act and every #b years thereafter1 the ,office of ,research and ,development of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency shall submit to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology and the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works of the ,senate1 a report containing a certification that each covered assessment completed during the period covered by the report was conducted using the scientific standards specified in section #g;,b4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section1 section #g;,a1 and section #g;,b3 7#a7 ,the term covered assessment means1 with respect to the evaluation of the human health effects resulting from chronic exposure to a chemical substance1 a chemical hazard identification and dose-response assessment 7as such terms are defined by the ,environmental ,protection ,agency on the day before the date of the enactment of this ,act74 7#b7 ,the term relevant program office includes the following offices of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency3 7,a7 ,the ,office of ,water4 7,b7 ,the ,office of ,air and ,radiation4 7,c7 ,the ,office of ,land and ,emergency ,management4 7,d7 ,the ,office of ,chemical ,safety and ,pollution ,prevention4 7,e7 ,any successor to an office specified in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,d7 and any other office determined to be relevant by the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 #g;,a4 ,hazard ,identification and ,dose-,response ,steering ,committee 7a7 ,establishment ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of the ,improving ,science in ,chemical ,assessments ,act1 the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency shall establish a chemical hazard identification and dose-response steering committee 7referred to in this ,act as the steering committee7 to coordinate the conduct of covered assessments by relevant program offices for purposes of ensuring that1 with respect to such assessments1 there is no duplication of effort by such offices4 7b7 ,duty ,the duties of the steering committee are the following3 7#a7 ,if the steering committee learns that more than one relevant program office intends to conduct covered assessments with respect to the same chemical substance1 the steering committee shall determine the most effective means of carrying out a single covered assessment to prevent duplication of effort by such offices4 7#b7 ,for purposes of supplementing a covered assessment1 the steering committee shall consider any third-party assessment of a chemical substance generated by another ,federal1 ,state1 or international agency or agencies or members of the scientific community that meets the requirements specified in subsection 7e74 7c7 ,chair2 composition 7#a7 ,chair ,the steering committee shall be chaired by the ,assistant ,administrator of the ,office of ,research and ,development of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 7#b7 ,composition ,the steering committee shall be composed of #ae members1 all of whom shall be active1 full-time employees of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 with at least one member representing each relevant program office and each regional office of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 ,the members of the steering committee shall be appointed by the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 ,any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the initial appointment4 7d7 ,meetings ,the steering committee shall meet at least once each calendar year4 7e7 ,third-,party assessment requirements ,the requirements specified in this subsection with respect to a third-party assessment of a chemical substance are that the assessment-- 7#a7 is conducted using scientific standards specified in section #g;,b2 7#b7 has undergone independent scientific review for transparency1 completeness1 and quality2 and 7#c7 reflects the best available science and the weight of the available scientific evidence4 #g;,b4 ,scientific ,standards ,covered assessments carried out under section #g and discussion of such assessments and review of third-party assessments carried out under section #g;,a1 shall be conducted using scientific information1 technical procedures1 measures1 methods1 protocols1 methodologies1 or models in a manner consistent with the best available science4 ,in carrying out such an assessment1 the relevant program office shall integrate all lines of scientific evidence and consider1 as applicable-- 7#a7 the extent to which the scientific information1 technical procedures1 measures1 methods1 protocols1 methodologies1 or models employed to generate the scientific information are reasonable for and consistent with the intended use of the scientific information2 7#b7 the extent to which the scientific information is relevant for the relevant program office's use in making a decision about a chemical substance2 7#c7 the degree of clarity and completeness with which the data1 assumptions1 methods1 quality assurance1 analyses employed to generate the scientific information are documented and publicly available in a manner that honors legal and ethical obligations to reduce the risks of unauthorized disclosure and re-identification2 7#d7 the extent to which the variability and uncertainty in the scientific information1 or in the procedures1 measures1 methods1 protocols1 methodologies1 or models1 are evaluated and characterized2 7#e7 the extent of independent verification or peer review of the scientific information or of the procedures1 measures1 methods1 protocols1 methodologies1 or models2 7#f7 the ability of the scientific findings and research to be replicated or reproduced2 and 7#g7 the extent to which the available scientific information supports dose-response modeling1 using non-linear approaches4 4