CLARK, NJ – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) today announced he has authored H.R. 4395, the “Cosmetic Safety Amendments Act of 2012.”  The Seventh District lawmaker, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, said his bill would help spur innovation and industry growth by updating current federal regulations for the cosmetics and personal care industry.

During a meeting with employees at L’Oréal USA in Clark, Lance said his bill would modernize the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act with reasonable, science-based reforms to help personal care product companies, like L’Oréal USA, that are seeking to innovate, create new products and grow their businesses. 

“Given the current state of the American economy, what we need right now are updated federal regulations based on sound science to help, not hurt job creation,” said Lance.  “H.R. 4395 seeks to advance consumer safety and provides a regulatory framework that furthers growth and innovation for American cosmetics manufacturers and small businesses.”

As part of the event, Lance and Eric Bone, Senior Vice President for Research & Innovation at L’Oréal USA, addressed employees regarding the legislation and briefly toured the facilities.

“For more than one hundred years, consumer safety has been of paramount importance to L’Oréal. Congressman Lance’s legislation will provide the FDA with a more modern framework for oversight of the growing global cosmetics market, new safety assurances for consumers and greater regulatory certainty for manufacturers to innovate and develop new personal care products that meet consumers’ needs,” said Eric Bone, Senior Vice President Research & Innovation, L’Oréal USA.

Additionally, John Hurson, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at the Personal Care Products Council, said the regulatory updates proposed by Lance would help job creation in the personal care product industry.

According to the Personal Care Products Council, the cosmetic and personal care products industry accounts for more than 175,820 jobs in New Jersey and 8.2 million jobs nationally.  This includes manufacturers, distributors and also licensed beauty professionals, direct sellers and nail salon workers.  

L’Oreal USA has more than 2,500 full-time employees in the state of New Jersey, 1,385 of which are located in the Seventh District.  Other Seventh District member companies include Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, among others.

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