May 7, 2003 — The U.S. House of Representatives gave the green light to the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003 on Wednesday, authorizing that $2.36 billion be spent for the next three years on nanotechnology programs at a range of government agencies.

The bill establishes a permanent home for nanotechnology research and development within the federal government, setting up a formal structure for coordination of research across agencies. It also sets up a presidential advisory committee on nanotechnology through the White House, plus a series of small panels of citizens to look at the societal and ethical implications arising from nanotechnology.

An approximation of the House bill is also being debated in the Senate.

If both houses of Congress pass their respective bills, representatives from the two bodies will meet to work out the differences and send a final bill to President Bush. The White House supports the bill and lawmakers are moving to pass it before Congress’ annual August recess.

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Science Committee and the bill’s primary sponsor, said the legislation “will bolster our economy as well as add to our storehouse of knowledge.”

The bill does not address the Department of Defense, which is second only to the National Science Foundation in dollars spent on nanotechnology research. The Defense Department’s nanotechnology budget is handled in a separate bill.

The bill also includes:

• A requirement that interdisciplinary research centers exchange information, partner with states and industry, and accelerate commercialization;
• Creation of new science and technology graduate scholarships for programs addressing nanotechnology;
• Language ensuring that research programs will include colleges and universities that serve minorities;
• Clarifications that research on societal and ethical concerns includes the study of environmental implications and the implications of possible development of “nonhuman intelligence.”

Sen. George Allen, R-VA, chairman of the Commerce Committee’s Science, Space and Technology subcommittee, sponsored the Senate bill and along with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is shouldering it through that body.

The Senate has not yet set a time for a vote on the bill.