Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Chair, my amendment No. 96 prohibits funds to develop, finalize, issue, or use assessments under the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS program.

The IRIS program has never been authorized by Congress and was created by the EPA out of thin air in the 1980s. It has been heavily criticized by everyone from former EPA officials, the National Academy of Sciences, Federal agencies, and the Government Accountability Office. Despite that, the EPA spends $20 million to $40 million of taxpayer money per year on the program.

IRIS has a demonstrated history of conducting low-quality chemical risk assessments that failed to utilize the best available scientific data and establish very real regulations for private citizens and private companies.

EPA has targeted a number of important chemistries, including formaldehyde; uranium; vanadium, a critical mineral; ethylene oxide, for sterilization of medical equipment; naphthalene, to shut down oil production; as well as others.

IRIS risk assessments have been put forth at the expense of American jobs and cost public confidence in chemistries that are critical to activity across many sectors of the U.S. economy, from agriculture to furniture making to transportation and national security.

Bipartisan concerns have been raised repeatedly in Congress about the failure of the IRIS program to utilize sound science and broad input in its evaluations. These concerns have been largely dismissed or ignored.

Recently, IRIS has indicated that they intend to use the formaldehyde IRIS rule, which is below the level in human breath and from natural background levels, as the basis for their high-priority risk evaluation and risk management rule for formaldehyde over the next 2 years.

It should be obvious that these bans on formaldehyde, certain formaldehyde-based products or conditions of use, and unachievable workplace standards orders of magnitude below OSHA or European Union requirements will be very damaging mandates for Americans.

This would include direct negative impacts on the manufacturing community, including on manufacturing of resins, wood products, adhesives, fertilizers, roofing, coating materials, electrical products, lubricants, fabrics, and other construction materials as well as energy, transportation, and agriculture end uses.

There needs to be a change in the way EPA conducts its business around scientific integrity and accountability and the way in which the Federal Government conducts chemical risk evaluations.

My amendment is in the interest of protecting American safety and jobs and ensuring chemical risk assessments conducted by the EPA are driven by the best available science rather than political and ideological agendas.

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Chair, I will point out one more time that we are in a situation here in which our tolerance is well under that of European or other countries. One more time, we are going put ourselves in a position which manufacturing is much more expensive, if not impossible, in the United States compared to other countries.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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