Lawmakers’ Latest Effort to Revise Chemical Law Lacks Consensus

Lawmakers’ push to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act is being met with far less consensus on potential changes than 10 years ago, when Congress first overhauled the law.

During a recent forum on the law, people working for manufacturing trade associations, a former senator, scientists, and environmental health advocates voiced diverse perspectives on whether it’s time to revise the law as proposed by some House and Senate lawmakers.

Many speakers shared a central frustration during the forum: Regulatory certainty and public health protections have been thwarted by policy flip flops adopted by the four administrations that have overseen the ...