House Democrats Laud Progess on TSCA Reform Following Release of Discussion Draft
A House Energy and Commerce Committee discussion draft of a bill to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act marks a “good start” toward finding legislation “that truly can become law,” said the ranking member of the committee’s Environment and Economy subcommittee, Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., at an April 14 hearing. The legislation must still do more, however, to protect public health and keep state sovereignty over chemical regulation, said Tonko.
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The draft bill, floated by Republicans on the committee in recent days, would add a new "risk evaluation" step to the Environmental Protection Agency chemical review process. It would also preempt the patchwork of state laws that has developed over the years, providing that, once EPA makes a final decision on a chemical, whether finding hazards or no unreasonable risk, that decision would apply in all states. In the last Congress, Democratic opposition to similar legislation impeded the legislative process for TSCA reform (see 14043003). This round of the TSCA overhaul effort has also fueled controversy, with lawmakers and food safety groups rallying against the Republican-preferred Senate bill, named the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, S-697 (see 1503200028 and 1504010035).
Full committee ranking member, Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said legislative work in the House continues. “This new discussion draft does not attempt to realize the goal of a fully reformed TSCA with assurances that all chemicals in commerce are safe,” said Pallone. “But it will give [the Environmental Protection Agency] tools to reduce the risk now in a package that I think has the potential to become law. And it will give the consumers the ability to choose chemicals and products that have been reviewed for safety against a purely risk-based standard.”
Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus, R-Ill., said the subcommittee will mark up the House bill in mid-May. Shimkus championed bipartisan work on the legislation that has continued into the 114th Congress. “Our subcommittee has put in a lot of hours on TSCA over the past couple years, and that effort is about to pay off,” said Shimkus. “To facilitate our work, we’ll publish a revised bill text reflecting consensus revisions in time to use as the subcommittee mark-up vehicle.” Full committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., called the April 14 hearing an “important milestone.”
In testimony before the hearing, EPA Assistant Administrator EPA Jim Jones said the framework in place for chemical review needs an “update.” He said the House legislation addresses some of the concerns directed at the Senate bill. Jones said the EPA only reviews several chemicals a year. More than 60,000 chemicals were grandfathered in upon TSCA enactment in 1976, and EPA hasn’t been able to examine the vast majority of those (see 14040401).