While the major story in Washington this week has been the negotiations surrounding the nearly $800 billion stimulus package, a piece of legislation with significant impact in the cleantech space also cleared significant hurdles. On Wednesday,  the House of Representatives passed H.R. 554, the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2009 (NNI Amendments), by voice vote.

The timing of the Bill’s passage, less than a month from its introduction in the House and concurrently with efforts to pass critical economic legislation, should not go unnoticed.  While the Bill lacks the high dollar press appeal of other pending economic recovery legislation, the 30-page Bill would also play a role in promoting the long-term strength of the US economy.  Experts project that between 2006 and 2014, global revenues from nanotechnology-enabled products will grow from $50 Billion to $2.6 trillion, and comprise 15% of projected global manufacturing output.  The United States’ ability to capture and retain a significant share of this growing global nanotech market will depend, in part, on how government, industry and academia can work together to support targeted research and development efforts, as well as critical environmental, health and safety testing, needed to bring emerging nanotechnologies to the market quickly and safely.

The NNI Amendments revise and refine the current federal approach to federal funding, coordination, and oversight of nanotechnology research in important ways.  Most importantly, the Bill would promote a more strategic approach to setting federal research priorities and place a greater emphasis on health and safety research as well as research into certain “areas of national importance,” starting with “energy efficiency, nano-electronics, health care and water remediation.” (For a more detailed discussion of the various changes proposed by the NNI Amendments see our prior post).

Now that the House has passed the NNI Amendments, responsibility to move the legislation shifts to the Senate, where its fate is less clear.  In 2008 a similar piece of legislation died in the Senate despite overwhelming support and passage in the House.  Some possible clues into the bill’s fate could come Thursday, however, when the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold an executive session to establish Committee rules and discuss a budget resolution.  Coming only a day after the House’s passage of the small but important bill, it will be interesting to see if any Senator voices an interest in shepherding the the NNI Amendments through the Senate the way Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN) did in the House.

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.