Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) addresses the media following the historic passage of chemical safety reform
After passing the House two weeks ago, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act cleared its last legislative hurdle in the Senate late Tuesday. Updating the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 has long been a priority for the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the landmark legislation culminates a multi-year, multi-Congress effort. Once signed, the new law will provide American consumers with safety and certainty while protecting the environment.
“This is a law that had to change," said Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL). “In bringing TSCA in the 21st century, industry will now have the regulatory certainty they need and the American people will have the protections they deserve. This triumph of bipartisanship is a testament to what we in Congress can achieve when we work together, and I look forward to it being signed into law."
“This bipartisan bill marks the most meaningful update to issues involving the environment and economy we’ve had in decades and shows what happens when Congress comes together - we can get big things done for the American people," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). “I look forward to the president swiftly signing this important bill into law."
June 8, 2016
Bipartisan bill to harness toxic chemicals was years in the making
The first-ever update to federal regulations on toxic chemicals requires a national review of thousands of household and commercial substances, including asbestos and BPA.
The bill passed Tuesday by the Senate requires the “first-ever systematic review of all chemicals in commerce," according to a Senate fact sheet on the legislation. …
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law, at which point it will regulate an $8 billion industry.
The bill updates the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which received criticism for being unenforceable and in dire need of updating. The new bill strikes at both critiques, providing the first safety standards on otherwise unregulated chemicals, including Bisphenol A (BPA), formaldehyde, and styrene.
The old law was the only environmental law that had never been updated, and the EPA had been unable to employ it effectively since its efforts to restrict use of asbestos failed in court in 1991, according to the Senate. It is named after Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) of New Jersey, who had worked to update TSCA for decades until his death in 2013.
“TSCA is outdated legislation," Sheldon Krimsky, a professor of environmental policy at Tufts University, in Medford, Mass., told The Christian Science Monitor in 2014. “The way it has worked is when a chemical causes harm, that’s when the EPA will start engaging in taking actions." …
Read the entire article online HERE.
See Also
* Chemical Safety Reform Complete
* Speaker’s Signature Moves Chemical Safety Reform One Step Closer to Law
