On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, entitled, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.”
Witnesses:
- Chris Jahn, President & Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council
- Geoff Moody, Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Policy, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers
- Dr. Richard Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, The Acta Group
- Dr. Maria Doa, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund
After years of discussion in Congress around reform, President Obama signed the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law June 22, 2016. The legislation marked the first major overhaul of TSCA since its passage, and it enjoyed bipartisan support. It included many significant changes to the EPA’s regulation of new and existing chemicals and collection of information:
- Directed EPA to use a “best available science” standard when evaluating chemicals and specified how EPA could use scientific and technical information.
- Prevented new chemicals from going to market unless the EPA issues a safety finding.
- Required EPA to systematically review existing chemicals and established a framework for prioritizing chemicals for evaluation.
- Modified the treatment of confidential business information submitted to EPA.
- Prohibited EPA from considering cost factors when evaluating risk.
- Expands EPA authority to require testing to inform risk evaluations.
The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics within EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention manages EPA’s TSCA responsibilities. Despite these reforms, the EPA has reported difficulty implementing the Lautenberg Act and has struggled to meet statutorily mandated timeframes for both new chemical reviews and risk evaluations for existing chemicals. Manufacturers and processors have also expressed frustration with EPA’s approach to risk evaluations, new requirements governing data manufacturers must submit to EPA, and increased user fees, among other issues.
01/22/2025 at 10:00AM
