Calling it proof that Washington can function despite intense polarization, President Barack Obama signed into law today a bill co-authored by U.S. Sen. David Vitter that is the first major overhaul of toxic chemicals rules in 40 years.
“Cynics will say there’s no bipartisanship in Washington—well, today, we’ve proved them wrong,” Vitter says in a statement. “As of today, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is officially the law of the land, and the American people, the chemical industry, and our public health and safety will all benefit for it.”
The bill will create a transparent federal system for regulating safety using the latest advances in science, a news release from Vitter’s office says. The law also strikes a balance between the roles of the states and federal government in chemical safety.
Louisiana’s senior senator first began working on the bill three years ago with Lautenberg, the late Democratic senator from New Jersey, and then joined forces with another Democrat, New Mexico’s Sen. Tom Udall, to reform the nation’s chemical safety laws.
In a White House signing ceremony today, Obama praised both chemicals industry groups and environmentalists alike for finding consensus despite their usual differences of opinion. He was joined by a diverse group of U.S. lawmakers, including Vitter, who helped pass the legislation.
“If we can get this bill done, it means somewhere out there on the horizon, we can make our politics less toxic as well,” Obama says.
Business groups had sought a single, federal standard to eliminate the complexity of dealing with state regulations that don’t always line up with each other. Obama says the law meant that for the first time in its history, the U.S. would be able to regulate chemical effectively.
Read the full PBS Newshour story.
