Environmental health groups are descending on Capitol Hill this week to lobby lawmakers to reject industry-backed reforms to the nation’s chemical safety law, as Congress weighs the first major updates in a decade.
Over the past 18 months, a slew of chemical trade associations have flocked to Congress in pursuit of a speedier EPA review process for new chemicals, among other changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Environment and Public Works committees introduced two draft bills earlier this year that environmental advocacy groups and some key Democrats say weaken TSCA.
“We wanted to send a strong message to oppose the weakening of TSCA,” said a spokesperson for the Environmental Defense Action Fund, which is one among roughly a dozen organizations that are part of the coalition.
