TSCA Reform 2015: A Tale of Two Bills

On March 10, 2015, Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), David Vitter (R-LA), and a coalition of 15 additional democratic and republican Senators, introduced the “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act” (S. 697), a bipartisan bill to reform the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.).  On March 12th, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced the “Alan Reinstein and Trevor Schaefer Toxic Chemical Protection Act," legislation that also is intended to address TSCA reform.  The bills, which build on earlier legislation introduced in several past Sessions of Congress, are different in several key areas:

• Proposed Safety Standard;
• Safety Determination Schedule;
• Minimum Number of Existing Substances to be Reviewed;
• Preemption; and
• User Fees.