The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President for Energy and Resources Policy Keith McCoy spoke up with regard to the introduction of H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL):
"Manufacturers are concerned with the direction taken in the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act. In its current form, the bill hurts manufacturers' ability to innovate and remain competitive in a global marketplace. It dramatically expands the scope of the Environmental Protection Agencys authority over every sector of our nations economy, sets unrealistic standards and timeframes and puts unnecessary burdens on manufacturers with new and inconsistent statutory requirements.
Manufacturers support a U.S. chemical regulatory and management system that is risk-based and uses the best science to ensure chemicals are safe for their intended use. We believe federal regulation should protect human health and the environment, promote innovation, restore public confidence, and avoid unnecessarily adverse economic impacts on small and large businesses.
If enacted, this bill will create even more uncertainty for manufacturers and will hurt their ability to create jobs and grow our economy at a critical time in our nation. Manufacturers will continue to work with Congress to achieve meaningful reform of our chemical regulatory system which is not overbearing and cumbersome to manufacturers."
The American Chemistry Council weighed in as well."We have long been an advocate for modernization of our nation's chemical safety laws," said ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley. "I appreciate that the Congressmen have taken this issue seriously and their willingness to have an open discussion on how to approach this challenge. We recognize this is a complex issue and a lot of hard work went into crafting this legislation, but this is just the beginning.
"Last fall the American Chemistry Council announced 10 key principles around which we believe the Toxic Substances Control Act should be modernized, and our review of this new bill is rooted in how those principles are reflected," Dooley continued. "The federal chemical regulatory system must ensure public safety, protect the ability of American business to innovate, and preserve American jobs. This bill will need more work to get us there," Dooley said.
