This program is mandated by Section 5 of the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA). The New Chemicals Program functions as a gatekeeper which can identify conditions-up to and including a ban on production-to be placed on the use of a new chemical before it is entered into commerce.
Currently, the newest version is MS Word 2010. Same with all the other different MS applications (PowerPoint, Excel, etc.)
By the way, Microsoft also set an end-of-life of mainstream support for Windows 8 (including the latest version, Windows 8.1), for January 9, 2018. This is another hint that Microsoft should have its next version of Windows ready in 2015, code-named Threshold (sometimes referred to as Windows 9).