Sen. Whitehouse and Hasbro Celebrate Progress on Toxic Chemicals Law

Press Release

As the Senate nears consideration of a major reform to the law intended to protect consumers from toxic chemicals in everyday products, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today held a press conference with local stakeholders to provide an update. The event was held at Hasbro, Inc., in Providence, which has long called for improvements to the law. Whitehouse joined Hasbro, Inc. Chairman, President & CEO Brian Goldner to celebrate recent progress and discuss how this new legislation will help Rhode Island businesses and consumers. They were also joined by Richard Denison, Lead Senior Scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit organization that has been strongly supportive of the legislation.

The law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), has failed to protect American consumers for decades. At the press conference today, Whitehouse, Goldner, and Denison spoke about their support for the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which would update and strengthen TSCA.

"TSCA is widely considered to be a toothless statute that fails to protect public health and the environment from harmful chemicals, and it is long overdue for serious reforms," said Whitehouse. "Thanks to the support of partners like Hasbro and EDF and a bipartisan group of Senators, we are now on the verge of passing legislation to begin giving consumers peace of mind that the products they use are safe. The bill would also improve regulatory certainty for businesses like Hasbro in a patchwork of state-by-state rules, while still preserving a role for states to protect their citizens if the federal government drags its feet. I'm proud to have helped craft this bill, and I hope we will soon pass it in the Senate."

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