An article published on September 13, 2014 by the news provider U.S. News reports that the revision of U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) faces an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate. Over summer, Senators Tom Udall (Democrats) and David Vitter (Republicans) presented a revised draft of their Safety Improvement Act that was claimed to still fall short by Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Under the revised bill, federal law would take precedence over state law, making the regulation of chemicals at the state level more difficult. The Safety Improvement Act is an industry-backed bipartisan bill, which has replaced a proposal presented during the last legislative period by the Democrats. Udall argues that the new bill would be a significant improvement of TSCA. Boxer counters that the proposed bill fails to clearly reject the current ineffective chemical regulation and sets out timelines under which the review of currently authorized chemicals will take a long time. She further proposes the insertion of a proposition specifically addressing drinking water contaminants.
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Frederic Frommer (September 13, 2014). “Bill to overhaul how chemicals are regulated faces uphill battle in Senate.” U.S. News.
