Full Text of HR0060 97th General Assembly
HR0060 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Children and the developing fetus are uniquely | 3 | | vulnerable to the health threats of toxic chemicals, and | 4 | | early-life chemical exposures have been linked to chronic | 5 | | disease later in life; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A growing body of peer-reviewed scientific | 7 | | evidence links exposure to toxic chemicals to many diseases and | 8 | | health conditions that are rising in incidence, including | 9 | | childhood cancers, prostate cancer, breast cancer, learning | 10 | | and developmental disabilities, infertility, and obesity; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The President's Cancer Panel report released in | 12 | | May 2010 says "the true burden of environmentally induced | 13 | | cancers has been grossly underestimated", and the panel advised | 14 | | the President "to use the power of your office to remove the | 15 | | carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that | 16 | | needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's | 17 | | productivity, and devastate American lives"; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Workers in a range of industries are exposed to | 19 | | toxic chemicals that pose threats to their health, increasing | 20 | | worker absenteeism, worker compensation claims, and healthcare | 21 | | costs that burden the economy; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A recent national poll found that 78% of likely | 2 | | American voters were seriously concerned about the threat to | 3 | | children's health from exposure to toxic chemicals in | 4 | | day-to-day life; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, States bear an undue burden from toxic chemicals, | 6 | | including health care costs and environmental damages, | 7 | | disadvantaging businesses that lack information on chemicals | 8 | | in their supply chain and increasing demands for state | 9 | | regulation; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The primary governing federal statute, the Toxic | 11 | | Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), was intended to | 12 | | authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to | 13 | | protect public health and the environment from toxic chemicals; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, When the TSCA was passed, about 62,000 chemicals | 16 | | in commerce were grandfathered in without any required testing | 17 | | for health and safety hazards or any restrictions on usage; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In the 35 years since the TSCA passed, the EPA has | 19 | | required chemical companies to test only about 200 of those | 20 | | chemicals for health hazards and has issued partial | 21 | | restrictions on only 5 chemicals; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The TSCA has been widely recognized as ineffective | 2 | | and obsolete due to legal and procedural hurdles that prevent | 3 | | the EPA from taking quick and effective regulatory action to | 4 | | protect the public against well-known chemical threats; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, In January 2009, the U.S. General Accounting | 6 | | Office (GAO) added the EPA's regulatory program for assessing | 7 | | and controlling toxic chemicals to its list of high risk | 8 | | government programs that are not working as intended, finding | 9 | | that: | 10 | | (1) the EPA has been unable to complete assessments | 11 | | even of chemicals of highest concern; | 12 | | (2) the EPA requires additional authority to obtain | 13 | | health and safety information from the chemical industry | 14 | | and to shift more of the burden to chemical companies to | 15 | | demonstrate the safety of their products; and | 16 | | (3) the TSCA does not provide sufficient chemical | 17 | | safety data for public use by consumers, businesses, and | 18 | | workers and fails to create incentives to develop safer | 19 | | alternatives; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The National Conference of State Legislatures | 21 | | unanimously adopted a resolution in July 2009 that articulated | 22 | | principles for TSCA reform and called on Congress to act to | 23 | | update the law; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In August 2010, the Environmental Council of | 2 | | States, the national association of state environmental agency | 3 | | directors, unanimously adopted a resolution entitled | 4 | | "Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act", which endorsed | 5 | | specific policy reforms; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Ten states have come together to launch the | 7 | | Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse to coordinate state | 8 | | chemical information management programs and a coalition of 13 | 9 | | states issued guiding principles for TSCA reform; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Seventy-one state laws on chemical safety have | 11 | | been enacted and signed into law in 18 states with broad | 12 | | bipartisan support over the last 8 years; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, State policy leadership on chemical management, | 14 | | although outstanding, cannot substitute for Congressional | 15 | | leadership to reform the TSCA, a reform which all parties agree | 16 | | is urgently needed; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The TSCA is the only major federal environmental | 18 | | statute that has never been updated or reauthorized; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Legislation to substantially reform the TSCA was | 20 | | introduced during the 109th Congress in 2005, the 110th | 21 | | Congress in 2008, and again in the 111th Congress in 2010; |
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| 1 | | therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | The House of Representatives of the State of Illinois | 5 | | encourages the 112th United States Congress to enact federal | 6 | | legislation to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act of | 7 | | 1976 to strengthen chemicals management through policy reforms | 8 | | that:
| 9 | | (1) require chemical manufacturers to prove that all | 10 | | existing and new chemicals are not harmful to human health | 11 | | and provide essential health and safety information on | 12 | | chemicals to inform the market, consumers, and the public; | 13 | | (2) require immediate action to reduce or eliminate the | 14 | | worst chemicals, including persistent, bioaccumulative, | 15 | | and toxic chemicals (PBTs) and other priority toxics to | 16 | | which there is already widespread exposure; | 17 | | (3) preserve the authority of state and tribal | 18 | | governments to operate chemicals management programs that | 19 | | are more protective than the federal government's; | 20 | | (4) establish health safety standards for chemicals | 21 | | that rely on the best available science to protect the most | 22 | | vulnerable among us, such as children and the developing | 23 | | fetus; | 24 | | (5) reward innovation by fast-tracking approval of | 25 | | new, demonstrably safer chemicals and invest in green |
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| 1 | | chemistry research and workforce development to boost | 2 | | American business and spur jobs, making safer | 3 | | alternatives; and | 4 | | (6) promote environmental justice by developing action | 5 | | plans to reduce disproportionate exposure to toxic | 6 | | chemicals in hot spot communities; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to each member of the Illinois congressional | 9 | | delegation.
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