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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, American consumers deserve to have confidence
3that the products they buy, when used for their intended
4purposes, are safe; and
 
5    WHEREAS, A federal chemical management program should
6place protecting the public health, including children's
7health, as its highest priority, and should include strict
8government oversight; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The federal chemical management program should
10preserve America's role as the world's leading innovator and
11employer in the manufacture, processing, distribution in
12commerce, and use of chemicals; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The current chemical management law, the Toxic
14Substance Control Act (TSCA), was signed into law in 1976, and
15it is now nearly 35 years old; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Since the enactment of the law, our ability to
17understand the impact chemicals have on the human body and the
18environment has advanced significantly; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Those advancements in science and technology need
20to be integrated into the federal chemical management program;

 

 

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1and
 
2    WHEREAS, Momentum for modernization of the federal
3chemical regulatory system is growing in Congress; and
 
4    WHEREAS, A robust federal chemical management system will
5obviate the need for state governments to adopt potentially
6conflicting state regulatory programs that have the potential
7for negative impacts on the national economy; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10we urge the 112th Congress of the United States to enact
11federal legislation to modernize the Toxic Substances Control
12Act of 1976 in order to:
13        (1) ensure that chemicals are safe for their intended
14    use;
15        (2) require EPA to systematically prioritize chemicals
16    for the purpose of assessing their safe use;
17        (3) require that EPA act expeditiously and efficiently
18    in assessing the safe use of chemicals;
19        (4) require companies that manufacture, import,
20    process, distribute, or use chemicals to provide EPA with
21    relevant information to the extent necessary for EPA to
22    make safe use determinations;
23        (5) assure that the potential risks to children from

 

 

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1    exposures to chemicals are considered in the assessment of
2    safe use;
3        (6) empower EPA to impose a range of risk management
4    controls to ensure that chemicals are safe for their
5    intended use;
6        (7) encourage companies and EPA to work together to
7    enhance public access to chemical health and safety
8    information;
9        (8) require that EPA rely on scientifically valid data
10    and information, regardless of its source, including data
11    and information reflecting modern advances in science and
12    technology;
13        (9) enable EPA to have the staff, resources, and
14    regulatory tools it needs to ensure the safety of
15    chemicals; and
16        (10) ensure that TSCA remains a vehicle to promote and
17    encourage technological innovation, and the maintenance of
18    a globally competitive industry in the United States; and
19    be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
21delivered to members of the Illinois congressional delegation.