On June 5, the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 5940) passed the House of Representatives. H.R. 5940 reauthorizes and refines the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), notably strengthening the commitment to environmental and safety research.
H.R. 5940 assigns responsibility to a senior White House official to ensure that a detailed implementation plan for Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) research is developed and executed - a plan that specifies both near-term and long-term objectives, provides a timeline for achieving the near-term objectives, and identifies the funding, by objective and by agency, necessary to carry it out. The legislation also requires the plan to be responsive to recommendations from the NNI external advisory committee and requires the development of a publicly accessible database containing every EHS research project supported under the NNI.
In addition to the emphasis on EHS research, the bill requires the NNI to increase its emphasis on ways for moving basic research results out of the laboratory and into commercial products, materials, and devices.
The bill also creates new nanotechnology education programs to attract secondary school students to science and technology studies, and to help prepare the nanotechnology workforce of tomorrow.