WASHINGTON—US Senator Bill Cassidy, MD released the following statement on the passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which will update the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):
“Chemical safety law hasn’t been changed in more than 40 years. As a physician, this is key to protecting worker’s health. Senator David Vitter 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 7 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.”
Dr. Cassidy is an original co-sponsor of the bill.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (the Lautenberg Act):
- Is the first major environmental reform in the past two decades. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 is a decades-old law that gives the EPA authority to review and regulate chemicals in commerce. It is the only environmental law that has not been updated by Congress since its enactment.
- Is the product of years of negotiation in Congress and, along the way, has garnered the support of a wide range of stakeholders, including state and local government leaders, environmentalists, manufacturers, and the oil and gas industry. The President supports the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
- Will create a predictable regulatory framework that is workable for industry and encourages continued investment and job growth.
- Will ensure protection of sensitive proprietary information while increasing public access to important information on chemicals and the regulatory process. This will serve to bolster public confidence in the safety of everyday products and provide a uniform regulatory system through a strong partnership between the federal government and all 50 states.
- Protects interstate commerce and our economy by establishing one national regulatory system, helping to eliminate a growing unworkable patchwork of state regulations on chemicals, which are important products in a national marketplace.
- Strengthens transparency and standards. Throughout the chemical review process, EPA must make its work available to the public and Congress. The agency must use the best-available science, incorporate cost considerations in any regulations, and base its decisions on the weight of the scientific evidence. Maintains TSCA’s heightened standard for judicial review, forcing the EPA to prove its actions are supported by “substantial evidence” rather than the typical “arbitrary and capricious” standard.
- Protects small businesses and ensures that bureaucratic hurdles don’t create duplicative or overly burdensome mandates.
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