HR0135 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0135 LRB097 10076 JDS 50253 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, American consumers deserve to have confidence that the products they buy, when used for their intended purposes, are safe; and

WHEREAS, A federal chemical management program should place protecting the public health, including children's health, as its highest priority, and should include strict government oversight; and

WHEREAS, The federal chemical management program should preserve America's role as the world's leading innovator and employer in the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, and use of chemicals; and

WHEREAS, The current chemical management law, the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), was signed into law in 1976, and it is now nearly 35 years old; and

WHEREAS, Since the enactment of the law, our ability to understand the impact chemicals have on the human body and the environment has advanced significantly; and

WHEREAS, Those advancements in science and technology need to be integrated into the federal chemical management program; and

WHEREAS, Momentum for modernization of the federal chemical regulatory system is growing in Congress; and

WHEREAS, A robust federal chemical management system will obviate the need for state governments to adopt potentially conflicting state regulatory programs that have the potential for negative impacts on the national economy; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the 112th Congress of the United States to enact federal legislation to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 in order to:

(1) ensure that chemicals are safe for their intended use;

(2) require EPA to systematically prioritize chemicals for the purpose of assessing their safe use;

(3) require that EPA act expeditiously and efficiently in assessing the safe use of chemicals;

(4) require companies that manufacture, import, process, distribute, or use chemicals to provide EPA with relevant information to the extent necessary for EPA to make safe use determinations;

(5) assure that the potential risks to children from exposures to chemicals are considered in the assessment of safe use;

(6) empower EPA to impose a range of risk management controls to ensure that chemicals are safe for their intended use;

(7) encourage companies and EPA to work together to enhance public access to chemical health and safety information;

(8) require that EPA rely on scientifically valid data and information, regardless of its source, including data and information reflecting modern advances in science and technology;

(9) enable EPA to have the staff, resources, and regulatory tools it needs to ensure the safety of chemicals; and

(10) ensure that TSCA remains a vehicle to promote and encourage technological innovation, and the maintenance of a globally competitive industry in the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to members of the Illinois congressional delegation.