House Democrats Say New, Narrower TSCA Reform Bill Could Win Backing

摘要

House Democrats say GOP plans to start anew on crafting a narrower Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill could help win their backing compared to past failed efforts that divided lawmakers, if it includes key provisions such as protections for vulnerable populations and does not uniformly preempt all state toxics programs. "We've got a clean slate and a new Congress," Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee's environment panel, told Inside EPA during a brief Jan. 22 interview. Tonko said he would like to see the current talks "revisit the concepts we shared" last Congress in discussions over a failed measure introduced by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chair of the energy panel's environment subcommittee. But Shimkus said that lawmakers in the House will not be using previous drafts of TSCA reform legislation as their starting point, and will instead work on writing new legislation that has support from several Democrats.