Could TSCA Reform Be Back on Track? Bipartisan Bill Brightens Outlook for Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act

On May 22, 2013, Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and David Vitter (R-La.) jointly introduced a new bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the primary federal statute regulating chemical substances. The bill appears to represent a breakthrough in efforts to achieve a bipartisan consensus on the reform of TSCA, which so many have long agreed is needed. While it remains to be seen how diversely situated groups of interested parties will respond to the bill and its approaches, this development may signal a turning point in the drive to modify the longstanding chemical regulatory regime and its standards.