Chairman Griffith's Opening Statement at Environment Subcommittee Hearing on TSCA

Welcome. I am really looking forward to working with you, ranking member Toco, as we, uh, start this adventure I'm hopeful we can work together on some bipartisan legislation going through the subcommittee. Today is not only my first hearing as chair of this subcommittee, but it is the first subcommittee hearing of the Energy and Commerce Committee for the start of the 119th Congress. The American people have spoken loud and clear. They've had enough of rising prices and the regulatory burden that threatens energy reliability, reduces American competitiveness and in some cases makes for stagnant economy. In general, I've long believed Congress needs to get back into the practice of passing regular authorizations as chair of the subcommittee, is my goal to modernize some of our major environmental laws and enable predictable, common sense regulation. I'm glad we've hit the ground running with this hearing and hope that we have signaled our commitment to dig into the statutory language to find out where we can make the law work better for all interested parties. To that end, today's hearing we'll examine the Frank Laudenberg chemical Safety. For the 21st Century Act or the Lautenberg Act, nearly 10 years ago, members of this committee worked tirelessly to develop the Landenberg Act to reform toxic substances Control Act, often referred to as Tosca. Tosca governs the environmental Protection Agency or EPA's regulation of new and existing chemicals in the chain of commerce for products containing those chemicals. This was no easy task. The Laudenberg Act made the most significant changes to Tosca since it became law in 197. 6. Wattenberg Act enjoyed strong bipartisan support in this committee before becoming law in 2016. And I was proud to be a part of that process. However, nearly 10 years have passed since the Lautenberg Act's passage. Both Democrat and Republican administrations at EPA have had the opportunity to implement the acts procedures for collecting new information on chemicals, reviewing new chemicals and for regulating those that the EPA determines pose an unreasonable risk and each administration. as we will hear today has encountered a number of challenges in implementing the Act. In 2023, the Government Accountability Office found that between 2017 and 2022, EBA completed only 10% of the pre-manufactured chemical reviews within the time limit laid out in the Latenberg Act. With the 10-year anniversary of the Landenberg Act's passage quickly approaching today's hearing will provide us an opportunity to learn more about what's working and what's not working at the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and it's important that we make the most of this opportunity to create that record. Among other things, Tosca as amended by the Lawenberg Act governs the EPA's process for reviewing new chemicals or in allowing new uses for existing chemicals before those products can be sold to consumers in the United States. Chemicals are part of manufacturing and methods and products that we depend on for our everyday life. New chemicals utilized in a safe manner, not only lead to new products that enhance our quality of life, but are also necessary for addressing crucial challenges like harnessing energy resources and treating disease. Similarly, our economic competitiveness and national security depend on our ability to innovate and bring new technologies to market safely and efficiently as chemicals are part of Nearly every product and new chemistries are essential to develop better products. The task of regulatory scheme has profound impact across nearly every sector of our economy. New chemicals and new uses for existing chemicals must undergo EPA review. If these reviews don't take place in a timely manner, our international competitors could gain an edge and more production would likely shift overseas. We are fortunate to have a panel of experts joining us to help pinpoint shortcomings with our current regulatory mechanisms and to discuss potential opportunities for reform. Today we will hear from Mr. Chris John, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council. Uh, also known as the ACC, of course, where I come from, that's the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC, the ACC serves as an organization of chemical companies who often engage in EPA's regulatory process, including new chemical reviews. Also joining us is Mr. Jeff Moody, the vice president of government relations for the American Fuel and petrochemical manufacturers. He will share the experiences of refiners and manufacturers that comply with Tosca to make the products we depend on every day. We're also glad to have Doctor Richard Engler prior to his current role as director of chemistry at the ACTA Group, Doctor Inglis served at the, at the Environmental Protection Agency for 17 years, and we'll be able to share more about the agency staff experience in implementing the act. Additionally, doctor, uh, Maria Doa, the senior director of chemical policy at the Environmental Defense Fund will offer testimony before joining the Environmental Defense Fund in 2021. Doctor Doa served. At the Environmental Protection Agency for 30 years working on chemical chem working on chemical safety and Tosca.