The Senate on June 7 unanimously passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, effectively sending the legislation to President Barack Obama for signature after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, dropped his objection. Some industry members lashed out at Paul for his blockage just before the Memorial Day recess (see 1605270014), but after passage, the American Apparel and Footwear Association thanked lawmakers for working hard to pass the “groundbreaking” legislation. "This bill establishes a new national chemical management standard that protects consumers while providing regulatory predictability for U.S. apparel, footwear, and textile companies,” AAFA CEO Rick Helfenbein said in a statement (here). “We urge President Barack Obama to sign this important legislation into law quickly." The legislation would provide the Environmental Protection Agency with more tools to get testing information on chemical substances, clarify the treatment of trade secrets submitted to the EPA, and update the collection of fees pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act, among other things.

A House Appropriations Committee Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill would give CBP $11.2 billion in funding, the same level as the corresponding Senate bill proposed (see 1605260037). That amount is $500 million less than the Obama administration’s budget request and $158 million above the current level, said a committee announcement (here). However, the House bill (here), released June 8, would support the hiring of 23,871 CBP officers, over 100 more than its Senate counterpart, according to the announcement. “These resources ensure our borders are protected by putting boots on the ground and improving technology, and help stem the flow of illegal goods both into and out of the country,” the committee statement said. The House markup would prohibit DHS from charging any new border crossing fees at northern and southern land ports of entry. The legislation would provide $41.1 billion in total discretionary spending to DHS in fiscal 2017, an increase of $100 million above the fiscal 2016-enacted level.

The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee will hold a hearing to explore agricultural export expansion and foreign trade barriers on those products, subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., said (here). Specifically, the June 14 hearing will focus on U.S. agricultural export successes, and how trade agreements can cut through trade barriers. “Trade agreements are an important tool to ensure that our exporters can compete on a level playing field – as long as these agreements are done right and are enforced,” Reichert said in a statement. “We have a responsibility to ensure that our trade agreements create high standards and contain tools to force our competitors to fully live up to their obligations.”

More than 450 groups, mostly environmental, landowner and indigenous rights organizations, asked congressional lawmakers to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The groups said the trade deals would enable fossil fuel corporations to demand compensation for U.S. fossil fuel restrictions through “tribunals not accountable to any domestic legal system.” A June 6 letter (here) notes that corporate lawyers, rather than judges, will decide investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases, citing TransCanada’s January NAFTA claim seeking $15 billion from the U.S. The TPP and TTIP would allow more companies to bring ISDS cases against the U.S., which would pose increased threats related to fracking, offshore drilling, oil and gas extraction on public lands, and fossil fuel pipelines, the organizations said. “Law firms specializing in ISDS are now explicitly advising corporations, including fossil fuel firms, to see ISDS as a ‘tool to assist lobbying efforts to prevent’ unwanted policies, as threats of costly ISDS cases can chill policy proposals,” the letter says.

Leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees urged the high-level U.S. delegation to the Strategic & Economic Dialogue in Beijing this week to directly engage Chinese officials on their country’s contributions to global overcapacities of steel, aluminum, solar and other goods. Chinese subsidies and “other market-distorting measures” largely influence these overcapacities, and the top Obama administration officials should push China’s “meaningful engagement” on compliance with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the lawmakers said in a letter (here) to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Secretary of State John Kerry, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., won't block Senate efforts to hold a vote on H.R. 2576, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, a Paul spokeswoman said in an email. “Senator Rand Paul believes in reading legislation before voting for or against it,” she said. “Having been given the opportunity to review this legislation, he’s now prepared to allow a vote to occur.” Paul on May 27 on the Senate floor objected to a vote, citing concerns about federal over-regulation, pre-emption of state laws, and the limited amount of time he had had to read the bill, which drew criticism from GOP colleagues (see 1605270014). The legislation would provide the Environmental Protection Agency with more tools to get testing information on chemical substances, clarify the treatment of trade secrets submitted to the EPA, and update the collection of fees pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act, among other things.

The Senate confirmed two judicial nominees -- Jennifer Groves and Gary Katzmann -- to the Court of International Trade, by voice vote on June 6. The nomination of Elizabeth Drake, which was submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee at the same time as the other two, did not come to the Senate floor for consideration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn't comment. President Barack Obama submitted the three nominations on July 30. The committee advanced the nominations to the Senate floor on April 7 (see 1604070016).

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on June 2 voiced her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, dealing the deal another blow as the administration works to gather support for TPP during an election year, according to an interview conducted by Detroit’s ABC affiliate (here). Stabenow cited weak currency manipulation language and concerns related to auto manufacturing.

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is reworking a bill that would both pre-empt state mandatory biotech labeling requirements to earn enough support to pass the Senate and be enacted before July 1, the day a mandatory GMO labeling law is set to take effect in Vermont, a committee majority spokeswoman said in an email. “Chairman Roberts continues to work toward a solution that can get support of enough senators,” she said. “His goal is to find that compromise so that legislation can be moved during the upcoming work period.” The chamber returns from recess on June 6, and will remain in session until June 30. The Biotech Labeling Solutions Bill has stalled since senators on March 16 voted 49-48 to prevent a final vote on it (see 1603170023). The House passed similar legislation last July (here).

Eighteen senators led by Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the EU Trade Commission to maintain China’s non-market economy status in antidumping duty cases until it becomes a true market economy, citing unfair state lending to nine state-owned steel producers and “rampant violation” of intellectual property rights, among other things, in a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. The senators said that China claims that its World Trade Organization Accession Protocol requires countries to treat it as a market economy by the end of this year, based on the country’s prices or costs, but the protocol actually allows WTO members to employ an alternate antidumping methodology if investigated producers cannot prove the existence of market economy conditions.