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Don't look now, but the senate just did something REALLY good for the environment!
Senate passes overhaul of chemical safety rules
12/17/15
by Timothy Cama
The Hill
The Senate voted Thursday to approve a sweeping bipartisan chemical safety bill after years of work and months of tense negotiations.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, named after the late New Jersey senator, updates the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad new powers to study and regulate harmful chemicals like asbestos, while restricting states’ individual abilities to make their own rules.
Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) made the chemical reform bill a top priority throughout 2015, making tweaks and assurances to build a broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats, industry and safety advocates in support of the measure.
Senators approved the measure Thursday evening by voice vote after Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) dropped her hold on the legislation amid promises that the Senate would work to bring the bill closer to legislation passed in the House, which Boxer says provides better protections from harmful substances.
“This is an historic day on which we’ve come together to pass significant chemical safety legislation,” Vitter said in a statement.
“As we honor the legacy of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, we also move toward the future embracing these major, necessary reforms to our nation’s broken chemical safety law.”
...The EPA decisions about chemicals would have to be made solely on the basis of its impact on health and the environment, not the compliance costs....
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/263680-senate-passes-chemical-safety-reform
12/17/15
by Timothy Cama
The Hill
The Senate voted Thursday to approve a sweeping bipartisan chemical safety bill after years of work and months of tense negotiations.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, named after the late New Jersey senator, updates the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad new powers to study and regulate harmful chemicals like asbestos, while restricting states’ individual abilities to make their own rules.
Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) made the chemical reform bill a top priority throughout 2015, making tweaks and assurances to build a broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats, industry and safety advocates in support of the measure.
Senators approved the measure Thursday evening by voice vote after Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) dropped her hold on the legislation amid promises that the Senate would work to bring the bill closer to legislation passed in the House, which Boxer says provides better protections from harmful substances.
“This is an historic day on which we’ve come together to pass significant chemical safety legislation,” Vitter said in a statement.
“As we honor the legacy of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, we also move toward the future embracing these major, necessary reforms to our nation’s broken chemical safety law.”
...The EPA decisions about chemicals would have to be made solely on the basis of its impact on health and the environment, not the compliance costs....
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/263680-senate-passes-chemical-safety-reform
