Lobbying Blog 3: Safe Chemicals Act

This is a good year for my lobbying topic. In fact, I am hopeful that the Safe Chemicals Act will be passed this year. There are a few reasons for this optimism. Firstly, I found my topic through an article in Scientific American, which means that the bill has been in the news. The article made some suggestions for the improvement of the bill, but was definitively supportive. Secondly, my bill has strong allies in the Senate, where it currently awaits a vote. Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey first introduced legislation related to toxic chemical control in 2005, and has been fighting for the idea continually. 

On the 17th of November, there was a hearing about the bill. I was able to find the video of the hearing online. Lautenberg opened with remarks about the bill's history. He explained that he'd talked to Republicans about making the bill bipartisan, and talked to Chemical Industry companies about their suggestions, too. He also said that most of the Democrats on the Committee for Environment and Public Works have become cosponsors of the legislation. There are 12 cosponsors in total. In fact, OpenCongress does not list any organizations currently opposing the bill! Despite all this, major chemical companies are not in full support of the bill. In the November 17th hearing, American Chemistry Council President and CEO Cal Dooley talked about his problems with the Safe Chemicals Act. He said that the bill "remains very similar to the bill which was introduced in 2010, which we consider unworkable." Most of his problems with the bill hinged on the tough standards for data and regulation, many of which would be difficult for the EPA and chemical industries to meet. However, he seemed to be willing to work with Lautenberg and other senators to make the bill more workable.

I know a lot about the history of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which the Safe Chemicals Act would override, and know that the chemical industry played a large part in writing that bill. I am worried that the Safe Chemicals Act could go the same way as it's predecessor, and end up as a basically useless measure. For this reason, I need to advocate for the bill in its current, strong form.

Although there are twelve senators cosponsoring the legislation, none of those senators are from Pennsylvania. I can write to Bob Casey and ask him to cosponsor the bill, or at least to pledge his support. I could also write to Pat Toomey, but I am doubtful that he will support the legislation. I recently saw an advertisement of his that was paid for by the petroleum industry. I was not able to find the ad online, but did find an article about the American Petroleum Institute's advertisements for Toomey and various other candidates. This makes me think that Pat Toomey cares more about big companies and industries than environmental or citizen health. I can still write to him, and explain my position.

When I first started to research the Safe Chemicals Act, I found the website Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. This site is an effort to pass legislation like the Safe Chemicals Act, and they have a sign-up for interested citizens. I already gave them my email, so I will be receiving updates on the bill's progress and opportunities to help. I also can write a letter to my Senators through their website. The website even has their own celebrity: Jessica Alba is working to push the Safe Chemicals Act through Congress!

One of the features on their website allows visitors to send a message to senators Casey and Toomey. I have not decided whether to send the senators a message through the website, or whether to send them one on my own. Either way, I will certainly be adding my voice to the many who call for the Safe Chemicals Act to be passed. 

I was not able to find any upcoming dates for meetings, committee hearings, deadlines, or anything like that. However, during the November 17th hearing, Senator Lautenberg said that he would be calling for a vote in the Senate soon. Because of this, I need to act now! At the moment, the only person I can influence in particular is Senator Bob Casey, by asking him to cosponsor the bill. I think that, with enough pressure from Pennsylvanians, Casey would support the bill. Pat Toomey, on the other hand, will probably not. I can still send him a message, to show my beliefs.