U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, today made the following statement about the growing support for the "Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013" (CSIA) that he coauthored and introduced with the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.).
"Our bill strikes the right balance between strengthening consumer confidence in the safety of chemicals, while also promoting innovation and the growth of an important sector of our economy," said Vitter. "Groups across the political spectrum, including environmental and industry representatives, are seeing the value of establishing a program that would provide confidence to consumers and businesses, ensuring EPA has the tools it needs to make critical determinations founded in a transparent process."
Today, the American Alliance for Innovation, a coalition of trade associations representing a broad spectrum of the economy, announced the support of nearly 90 trade organizations for CSIA. Today's statement is in addition to the already broad alliance of support. CSIA is cosponsored by 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans, as well as other groups and news outlets.
The top EPA toxics officials under both the Obama and Bush Administrations have hailed the Lautenberg-Vitter legislation to reform the nation's chemical laws. Click here to read statements from Steve Owens and Charles M. Auer, both of whom served in top positions at the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which is responsible for administering the current Toxic Substances Control Act.
Additional endorsements for this effort have also been provided by the following organizations:
Environmental Defense Fund
American Academy of Pediatrics
The Humane Society
The New York Times
Washington Post
Chicago Tribune
-30-
