On June 7, 2016 the U.S. Senate passed a final version of a bill to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. The U.S. House of Representatives already approved the bill on May 24, 2016 (FPF reported), after House and Senate had agreed on a consolidated version of the bill earlier in May 2016 (FPF reported). The Senate’s vote on the TSCA reform bill was put on hold by Republican Senator Rand Paul on May 26, 2016, preventing the bill from moving past Congress and being handed to U.S. President Barak Obama for signing (FPF reported).
According to an article published by The Hill, Senator Paul withdrew his hold on the vote, upon which the Senate passed the reform bill by unanimous consent. The industry group American Chemistry Council (ACC) welcomed the Senate’s approval of the reform bill stating that it will have “lasting and meaningful benefits for all American manufacturers, all American families and for our nation’s standing as the world’s leading innovator.” ACC further noted that they “look forward to the enactment of [the TSCA reform bill] by President Obama in the coming days.”
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Timothy Cama (June 6, 2016). “Rand Paul withdraws block on chemical safety bill.” The Hill
Darren Goode & Alex Guillén (June 7, 2016). “Chemical safety reform passes after ‘perfect storm.’” Politico
ACC (June 7, 2016). “Congress passes historic legislation to modernize TSCA.”
Gayle S. Putrich (June 8, 2016). “Rand Paul drops objection, TSCA reform bill passes.” Plastics News
Catherine Traywick & Jack Kaskey (June 8, 2016). “EPA wins clout to fight toxic chemicals, but it may take a while.” Bloomberg
Kelly Franklin (June 8, 2016). “U.S. Congress passes TSCA reform bill.” Chemical Watch
