GOP SEES 'PROXY' CHEMICAL FIGHTS AS PRELUDE TO TOXICS LAW OVERHAUL

摘要

Legislative battles over specific chemical bans, security standards for chemical facilities, consumer electronics recycling and other "proxy fights" are previews of a broader upcoming fight over reforming chemical management law, according to a key House Republican official.rnJerry Couri, a GOP staffer for the House Energy & Commerce Committee, told the GlobalChem conference here April 8 that chemical makers cannot focus "solely on the congressional efforts as they relate" to reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Narrower fights over specific chemical issues unfolding in Congress "are presaging the [fights] yet to come" as lawmakers debate a toxics law overhaul, he said.rnCouri said the key issues in the TSCA debate will be chemical-testing requirements, new chemical uses, the standard used to regulate existing substances, judicial review, provisions to protect against the disclosure of confidential business information and whether the law should preempt states from more stringent rules.