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U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 178. Congressional findings and declaration of policy
(a)(1) Congress recognizes that natural latex rubber is a
commodity of vital importance to the economy, the defense, and the
general well-being of the Nation. The United States is totally
dependent upon foreign sources for its supplies of natural (Hevea)
latex, which total about one million tons per year. Synthetic
rubber, manufactured from petroleum feedstocks, cannot be
substituted for natural rubber.
(2) Congress further recognizes that certain plant species of the
genus Parthenium (Guayule), native to Texas and the Republic of
Mexico, as well as other plants, are known to contain commercial
quantities of extractable rubber. During World War II, through
research carried out by the Secretary of Agriculture in the
Emergency Rubber Project, the United States demonstrated that
Parthenium latex is a promising and realistic substitute for Hevea
latex.
(3) Congress further recognizes that additional research and
development are needed, especially into methods for increasing
latex yields, before commercialization of native Parthenium latex
or other hydrocarbon-containing plants by private industry is
feasible.
(4) Congress further recognizes that the development of a
domestic natural rubber industry, based on Parthenium and other
hydrocarbon-containing plants, would not only relieve the Nation's
dependence upon foreign latex sources but also convey substantial
economic benefits to people living in arid and semiarid regions of
the United States. Such an industry would comprise the agricultural
production of the hydrocarbon-containing plants and the development
of commercial processing and manufacturing facilities to extract
the latex and other products.
(5) Congress further recognizes that ongoing research into the
development and commercialization of native latex has been
conducted by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of
Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and other public as well
as private and industrial research groups, and that these research
efforts should be continued and expanded.
(b) In addition, Congress recognizes that the development of a
domestic industry or industries for the production and manufacture
from native agricultural crops of products other than rubber which
are of strategic and industrial importance but for which the Nation
is now dependent upon foreign sources, would benefit the economy,
the defense, and the general well-being of the Nation, and that
additional research efforts in this area should be undertaken or
continued and expanded.
(c) It is therefore the policy of the United States to provide
for the development and demonstration of economically feasible
means of culturing and manufacturing Parthenium and other
hydrocarbon-containing plants, along with other native agricultural
crops, for the production of critical agricultural materials to
benefit the Nation and promote economic development.
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