Frank Pallone: “Nearly four decades ago, Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act to identify and regulate risks from dangerous…”

“Nearly four decades ago, Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act to identify and regulate risks from dangerous chemicals. Unfortunately, the statute has never worked. Improvements to the law are long overdue, and I am happy to be here today with my Energy and Commerce colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this landmark reform legislation. Mr. Speaker, what brought us together is the failure of the current statute to keep the American public safe and to provide confidence in the safety of American products. Toxic chemicals can be found in the products we use every day and are steadily building up in our bodies and the environment. Consumers are worried about chemicals like BPA and triclosan, but they don't know how to avoid them. It seems like every day there is a new study about how chemicals are negatively affecting our health, and something needs to change. The Energy and Commerce Committee has held many hearings over the last 6 years to understand why TSCA isn't working. Some critical flaws were built into the statute, like the grandfathering of over 60,000 chemicals in 1976 without any safety review. Other flaws came to light only through litigation, like the impossible analytical burden of the statute's ``least burdensome'' clause. Even though we have recognized these flaws, forward progress has been elusive.…”