Legislative History: The path to TSCA Reform
In the 111th Congress, both the Senate and House introduced legislation to revamp TSCA. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) sponsored the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 and Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) unveiled the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010.
Congress held eight public hearings that created unprecedented traction in favor of federal chemical policy reform. Below is a summary of legislation, news, and events related to TSCA reform from the 111th Congress.
Legislation introduced in Congress in 2010 was not the first attempt to fix our nation’s flawed system for regulating toxic chemicals, but it was the first time that both chemical industry lobbyists and public health advocates agreed that we can’t delay change any longer — the scientific evidence was too overwhelming; the public outcry too loud.
As Representative Rush said, "While the federal government’s ability to effectively monitor, test or otherwise oversee assorted industries will be strengthened through our legislation, right now our nation is bearing the brunt of decades of lax to non-existent federal oversight and the harm to consumers is immeasurable."
Read the 2010 Toxic Chemicals Safety Act (H.R. 5820) factsheet
Read our 2010 analysis of the Senate and House bills
Read the 2010 House Bill (H.R.5820) on THOMAS
Read the 2010 Senate Bill (S.3209) on THOMAS
Read the 2010 side-by-side comparison of both bills to reform TSCA (PDF)
The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition supported the goals of both bills and worked closely with Congress to fine-tune the legislation to reflect the concerns of the health care providers, scientists, advocates for the learning and developmentally disabled, and all the millions of individuals we represent.
"There has never been more momentum to reform our federal chemical policy," said Andy Igrejas, Director of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition.
Read our July 22, 2010 press release on the House Bill
Read our April 15, 2010 press release on the Senate Bill
Read the 2010 Safer Chemicals, Health Families coalition press releases
Listen to the press teleconference (April 15, 2010)
Listen to an interview with Andy Igrejas about the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010
"We're saying those who make the chemicals ...ought to be responsible for testing them first before they're release to the public, instead of having the EPA play detective to search and try to find problems."
Senator Frank Lautenberg
Read the 2010 full statement from Sen. Lautenberg
Download the full text of the 2010 House Toxic Chemicals Safety Act (pdf)
Download the full text of the Senate Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 (pdf)
Legislative News
For Immediate Release
November 17, 2011
Safe Chemicals Act Hearing Builds Momentum for Reform
Washington, DC - Today's Senate hearing on the Safe Chemicals Act was a milestone in the reform effort. Infertility, cancer, and learning disabilities are just some of the health problems linked to toxic chemicals that touch millions of American families. Senators should know that all those families are rooting for their success when they take this issue on.
Senator Lautenberg and Senator Inhofe deserve enormous credit for the dialogue they have undertaken on reform over the last several months and the rare bipartisan atmosphere it has created for this issue on Capitol Hill. Because of that work, there is an enormous opportunity that both parties can seize to make a difference in people's lives. We're encouraged by the statements made by Senators on both sides.
"Senators Lautenberg and Inhofe deserve enormous credit for the dialogue they have undertaken on reform over the last several months..."
We were also encouraged by the very constructive comments of the Consumer Specialty Products Association which represents some of America's best known companies and brands, like Procter and Gamble and SC Johnson. Perhaps because these companies sell directly to consumers they recognize the economic costs of the current collapse of confidence in our federal safety regulations.
The only disappointment in the hearing was the comments of the American Chemistry Council, the main trade group for chemical makers. We hope members of the American Chemistry Council can soon recognize the opportunity to make progress on reform and work constructively with the committee to achieve it in a bipartisan way.
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For more information please contact Trevor FitzGibbon at 202.406.0646, Trevor@FitzGibbonMedia.com
The Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition represents more than 11 million individuals and includes parents, health professionals, advocates for people with learning and developmental disabilities, reproductive health advocates, environmentalists and businesses from across the nation. For more information visit our website at www.saferchemicals.org.
