Congressional leaders applauded the Senate’s passage of legislation on Tuesday that would reform and modernize the nation’s chemical safety laws.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, S. 697, which would amend the Toxic Control Substances Act of 1976, would take steps to protect Americans from potentially harmful chemicals.
The bill would establish tools that streamline the EPA’s ability to obtain testing information on chemical substances and restructure evaluation of chemicals to ensure purely scientific evaluation.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) applauded passage of the chemical safety bill and noted that chemical safety laws haven’t changed in more than 40 years.
“As a physician, this is key to protecting worker’s health,” Cassidy said. “Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) fought the uphill battle on this and thanks to his work, manufacturers in Louisiana and across the country will have the clarity they need to do business and grow jobs. The chemical industry supports more than seven million direct and indirect jobs. It recently announced it is investing $145 billion in 200 new projects in the US. We have and need to bring more of these jobs to Louisiana. Streamlining chemical safety regulations is a huge step in achieving this.”
The bill would also establish a mandatory duty for the EPA to evaluate existing chemicals with enforceable deadlines and would require the EPA to determine that new chemicals are safe before they enter the market.
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said that incidents like the Freedom Industries spill in Charleston, W. Va., demonstrate the need to ensure that everyday chemicals are properly regulated.
“The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act will protect our families and provide regulatory certainty to our businesses and manufacturers,” Capito said. “Its passage is good news for the economy, our communities and the environment, and I was glad to work with my current and former colleagues in the Senate and the House to get this legislation across the finish line.”
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said that the passage of the chemical safety bill was a good example of the business community and members of the environmental community finding common ground that led to bipartisan legislation.
“And, it’s another good example of how the Republican leadership is getting things done,” Grassley said. “Everyone agrees the current Toxic Substance Control Act is broken. It’s cumbersome for the EPA and doesn’t do a good job of regulating dangerous substances. Businesses would like a more transparent process where they have clarity and certainty about whether a substance is approved in a timely fashion. The new bill requires the EPA to set priorities for substances with the greatest likelihood of presenting a risk to the public and establishes a process that’s both effective and not unnecessarily onerous on companies so that beneficial products can get to market. This will help both job creation and retention and environmental concerns.”
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) called the bill’s passage “an important milestone” for American consumers.
“Because of outdated policies, many quality chemical products have not been reviewed and approved as safe, preventing them from ever reaching the marketplace,” Wicker said. “I am pleased that Congress has worked in bipartisan fashion to approve these long-overdue reforms to environmental law, while supporting innovation, jobs, and economic opportunities.”
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, noted that the chemical safety bill address a matter of particular concern to Alaskans – persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs).
“We just made a major step when it comes to protecting public health and the environment,” Murkowski said. “This reform bill is a clear improvement over the current law, modernizing the decades-old system regulating chemicals. It addresses fundamental flaws that have hindered the EPA’s ability to protect human health and the environment from chemical risks. Alaskans deserve greater confidence regarding the safety of chemicals used in homes and businesses, and this bill gives them that. I’m pleased that we were successful in enhancing the bill based on concerns we heard directly from Alaskans.”
U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and John Shimkus (R-IL), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and Economy, applauded the Senate’s passage of the bill.
“The last legislative hurdle has been cleared in our multi-year pursuit of a landmark bicameral, bipartisan overhaul to our chemical safety standards,” Upton and Shimkus said in a joint statement. “We congratulate the Senate for its strong vote, and it’s a legislative achievement we can all be proud of. This bill represents the most meaningful update to issues involving environment and the economy we’ve had in decades. It’s good for jobs, good for the economy, and good for public health, and we look forward to the president swiftly signing this important bill into law.”
The House of Representatives approved the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, H.R. 2576, in May.