WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on June 23, with a 398-1 vote, approved a bill that would give a much-needed update to regulations for chemical manufacturing, transportation and use.
The overwhelming bipartisan vote marks the most significant progress any bill to update the 1970s-era Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has made in years. The lone dissenter was California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock.
The full Senate is expected to vote on its version of the bill (S 697) in July. While it also enjoys much bipartisan support, a fight is expected on the Senate floor, led by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who has her own version of the bill.
Plastics industry groups have long supported an update to TSCA, which has seen more problems than progress over the last 40 years.
“The world is a different place than it was when TSCA was first enacted in 1976. The plastics industry has seen amazing growth and transformation in size and sophistication over the last four decades, but TSCA has remained largely unchanged,” said Bill Carteaux, president and CEO of the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., in a news release.
“By approving H.R. 2576, the House of Representatives has taken a big step in the right direction, toward a regulatory regime that protects consumers without making the plastics industry comply with regulations that are redundant or based on outdated science,” Carteaux said.