Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) recently authored the Chemicals in Commerce Act, a discussion draft of legislation purporting to reform our nation’s weak and outdated chemicals management law, the Toxic Substances Control Act. Although EWG has long advocated improving our federal approach to the regulation of toxic chemicals, EWG has serious concerns about this discussion draft and strongly opposes it as a path for reform. Like the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, a bill proposed last May in the Senate, the Shimkus proposal would result in even less protection for public health and the environment than we have today. The Shimkus proposal would maintain many of the worst deficiencies found in current law, while drastically curtailing the ability of states to take steps to ensure that chemicals are safe, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Read EWG’s in-depth analysis of the Shimkus proposal’s critical flaws.
