TSCA Reform Support Strengthens in Senate as Leadership Prepares Debate
Senate legislation designed to reform the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) by creating a more easily navigable federal regulatory system has continued to gain bipartisan support over recent weeks and months, and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., on Sept. 28 topped off the number of co-sponsors at 55. Lawmakers may soon be debating the legislation, S-697 (here), on the Senate floor after Republican leadership put the bill on the chamber’s agenda.
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The office of Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the bill, dubbed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, may be next on the legislative schedule following an appropriations stopgap (see 1509290013). The bill boasts nearly equal support from Republicans and Democrats, but Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has fiercely criticized it (see 1503200028).
The legislation's primary sponsors say the bill aims to implement a “predictable and transparent” federal regulatory system for chemicals (see 1503110024). The legislation would strengthen deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate chemicals in U.S. commerce. Tens of thousands of existing chemicals haven’t yet been screened since TSCA took effect in 1976. The bill would also add new requirements for “confidential business information claims” and prevent manufacture until the EPA approves the chemical, but still grandfathers in state chemical regulations that went into effect before 2015.