Boxer-Markey Bill Is Forward-Thinking Chemical Reform

WASHINGTON (March 12, 2015) – Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) today introduced a bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976.  The bill is a response to a measure introduced earlier this week by Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Tom Udall (D-NM).

Daniel Rosenberg, senior attorney in the Health Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, made these comments on the Boxer-Markey proposal:

“This bill gives a sense of how much could be achieved with a full-fledged effort to reform our broken toxic chemicals law.  Senators Boxer and Markey start with the Vitter-Udall bill but take a significantly more ambitious and forward-thinking approach to ensuring that public health is protected, without the rollbacks to existing authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states. Every Senator ought to be reviewing it carefully to understand what more needs to be done to adequately protect the public as they consider TSCA reform legislation.”