§178d Research and Development Program by Secretary of Commerce

Summary

The Secretary of Commerce must start and run research, develop and share new technology, and run demonstration projects to test whether making and selling natural rubber from Parthenium or other hydrocarbon-containing plants — and other important materials from native crops — is economically feasible. The work must cover several areas: how to extract and process the materials; the economics including useful byproducts; the environmental, social, and economic effects; how marketable the plants and rubber are; improving current and future extraction and manufacturing methods (including using solar energy); creating records and materials to share with federal, state, and private groups; and, when appropriate, doing the same work for other native crops that could supply critical industrial materials.