Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus

Congressional caucuses are formed by members to provide a forum for issues or legislative agendas, and to pursue common legislative objectives. A number of caucuses exist in the U.S. House of Representatives, and their primary function is to draw attention to issues of importance to their membership. The purpose of the Nanotechnology Caucus is to inform policy makers about this emerging area, and facilitate communications between industrial and academic researchers and U.S. government. Caucuses are formed as Congressional Member Organizations (CMOs) through the U.S. House of Representatives, and are governed under House rules. They are also known as caucuses, coalitions, study groups, task forces, or working groups.

Caucus meetings are private sessions to set legislative agendas, select committee members and chairs, and hold elections for floor leaders. The meetings involve the four Capitol Hill committees (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee), political party committees that work to elect members of their party to Congress.

The most common type of caucuses are interest groups, like the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus. In June 2004, the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus was established to promote nanotechnology and to “educate policy makers about this emerging area.” Senators George Allen (R-VA; the founding Chair) and Ron Wyden, (D-OR) as well as Representatives Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Bart Gordon, (D-TN), the Chairman of House Committee on Science and Technology (2006–10) are the co-chairs of the Caucus. Given the dynamics of U.S. politics where special interest groups can lobby lawmakers to ensure that regulation favors their clients, these caucuses are extremely important in policy making. The Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus has convened many times since its inception, bringing together top players in the nanotechnology industry, including legislative counsels, chiefs of staff, legislative directors, research scientists, nonprofit directors, and members of the trade media.

The Caucus has been instrumental in shaping nanotechnology legislation. Senators Allen and Wyden were the Senate sponsors of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (S 189), which was signed into law on December 3, 2003, by President George W. Bush. The bill calls for United States “global leadership in the development and application of nanotechnology,” and provided the legislative foundation for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2003, which became the single largest federally funded, multiagency scientific research initiative since the space program in the 1960s, securing $3.63 billion over four years. The bill also provides for a research program to identify the ethical, legal, environmental, and other societal concerns related to nanotechnology.

A similar bill, H.R. 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003, was introduced by Representative Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-NY), Co-Chair of the caucus, and passed on May 7, 2003. Senator Allen is also a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Transportation, and Space, which held the first congressional hearings on nanotechnology.