H.R. ___, the "Chemicals in Commerce Act"

On  February 27, 2014, Rep. John Shimkus, Chairman of the Environment and the Economy Subcommittee, released a discussion draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act. The draft immediately drew criticism from a diverse range of stakeholders.  The Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition said the bill would “do nothing whatsoever to protect the public from the health impacts of toxic chemicals.”  The BlueGreen Alliance said that “the draft would adopt a ‘wish list’ tailored to ensure regulatory inaction.”  The American Sustainable Business Council said that the draft “falls short on the business principles we’ve identified to achieve meaningful reform.”  The American Association for Justice said that the draft “completely disregards known concerns of advocates for public health, the environment, consumers and states’ rights.”  

Chairman Shimkus released a revised discussion draft on April 22, 2014, which drew substantially the same criticism as the earlier draft.

Stakeholders highlighted specific flaws in the Chemicals in Commerce Act during two hearings on the bill and pointed to shortcomings in both existing law and S.1009 during five other hearings the House Energy and Commerce Committee held in the 113th Congress.