WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, voted in favor of a bipartisan bill to reform the “Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)” of 1976, which aims to protect Americans from potentially harmful chemicals. The measure, “Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” passed the Senate unanimously. The legislation now awaits President Obama’s signature to become law.

“This is an important milestone for American consumers,” Wicker said. “Because of outdated policies, many quality chemical products have not been reviewed and approved as safe, preventing them from ever reaching the marketplace. I am pleased that Congress has worked in bipartisan fashion to approve these long-overdue reforms to environmental law, while supporting innovation, jobs, and economic opportunities.”

The measure is the first major environmental reform in the past two decades. TSCA is the only environmental law that has not been updated by Congress since its enactment. The legislation would ensure protection of sensitive proprietary information while increasing public access to important information on chemicals and the regulatory process. This will serve to bolster public confidence in the safety of everyday products and provide a uniform regulatory system through a strong partnership between the federal government and all 50 states.

The business of chemistry is an $812 billion enterprise that employs nearly 800,000 people in the United States and supports 7 million related jobs. The industry creates raw material and products that are used to produce 96 percent of all manufactured goods.