February 5, 2009: US Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) has introduced new nanotechnology legislation in Congress that he said will address a need to commercialize basic research and to address potential health and safety risks associated with nanotechnology.

The Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities (NANO) Act draws upon a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology convened in California in 2005.

“One of the things I have heard from experts in the field is that while the United States is a leader in nanotechnology research, our foreign competitors are focusing more resources and effort on the commercialization of those research results than we are,” Honda said in a statement on his Web site.

Among other things, the bill would create a public-private investment partnership to address the nanotechnology commercialization gap, establish a Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for “nano-CAD” tools; establish grant programs for nanotechnology research to address specific challenges in the areas of energy, environment, homeland security, and health and establish a tax credit for nanotechnology education and training program expenses.

Honda was among the original sponsors of the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003, which officially kicked off the United States’ first-in-the-world government sponsored nanotechnology development program.