ASC pushes for bipartisan TSCA reform in new Congress.
Press Release Summary:
With opening of 113th Congress, ASC again took its message of the need for a bipartisan solution to the reform of Toxic Substances Control Act to offices of Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Kay Hagan (D-NC). In discussion, it was emphasized that complexity of TSCA will require that concerned parties find common ground in modernizing legislation and that TSCA reform legislation proposed in prior Congress did not address critical issues regarding chemical assessments or took a step backwards.
Original Press Release:
ASC Pushes for Bipartisan TSCA Reform in New Congress
Council Meets with Offices of Senators Mary Landrieu and Kay Hagan
Bethesda, MD – With the opening of the 113th Congress, the Adhesive and Sealant Council again took its message of the need for a bipartisan solution to the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the offices of Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Kay Hagan (D-NC). The meetings were part of an effort by American Alliance for Innovation (AAI), a broad based coalition of associations interested in chemicals management policy as regulated by TSCA to educate legislators about the importance of the legislation keeping pace with advances in science and technology. ASC is a charter member of AAI.
In the discussion with both Senate staffs, it was emphasized that the complexity of TSCA will require that all concerned parties find common ground in modernizing the legislation and that the TSCA reform legislation proposed in the prior Congress either did not address critical issues regarding chemical assessments or took a step backwards from the existing TSCA law.
Examples cited included a lack of a preemption provision that would preclude efforts by states and local municipalities from introducing their own chemical regulatory laws and the absence of an effort to create a prioritization process that would allow EPA to address the chemicals of most concern. Â
ASC also pointed out that the present TSCA program for new chemical review assessments has been working effectively, yet last year’s proposed reform legislation would have “gutted” that work and substituted an approach that would have offered no appreciable improvement in risk assessments. Â
“Everyone agrees that establishing a modernized TSCA program is critical because the absence of action throws these activities into the state legislatures and regulatory agencies,” said Mark Collatz, ASC’s Director of Government Relations. “Without bipartisan action by Congress, we are likely to end up with a patchwork of requirements for managing chemicals that ultimately will inflict harm on U.S. manufacturing and result in the job losses.”
The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC) is a North American trade association dedicated to representing the adhesive and sealant industry. The Council is comprised of 124 adhesive and sealant manufacturers, raw material and equipment suppliers, distributors and industry consultants, representing more than 75% of the U.S. industry with operations around the world. Offering education, legislative advocacy, professional networking and business growth solutions for its members, the ASC is the center of knowledge and catalyst for industry growth on a global basis for manufacturers, suppliers and end users.
For more information about ASC, visit www.ascouncil.org .
