TSCA needs fixing, but Congress still split on how

Part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is up for renewal later this year, and Republicans in both the US House and the Senate have created draft bills with changes to the law. At a March 4 hearing of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), chemical and industry experts said that the Senate version of the draft bill still contains ambiguities and that the changes aren’t doable for a staff-strapped US Environmental Protection Agency. “Unfortunately, the EPA’s implementation of its new chemicals program has drifted from Congress's original mandate,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said in his opening statement. Cramer, standing in for EPW chair Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), called the current process for assessing new chemicals expensive, burdensome, and unnecessary.Democrats generally agree that some changes to TSCA are needed. “But there will be differing views on what it means to improve this law,” said Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), EPW ranking member. The draft of the Senate bill (PDF)—the Toxic Substances Control Act, Fee Reauthorization, and Improvement Act of 2026—mainly targets the EPA’s process of reviewing new chemicals before they enter the market. Industry members have long complained that the process is too slow. Both sides of the aisle agree that EPA reviews need to move faster, and Republicans created a draft to change TSCA with the goal of speeding up new chemical reviews. But Democrats and environmental advocates say the draft gives industry too much control over chemical regulation and removes critical environmental safeguards.At a hearing