I'm going to go out the proverbial limb here and assume that, by the time this issue has printed, the U.S. Senate will have passed legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). I know I have a reputation of being a glass-half-empty kind of guy—but not this time.
As I write this column, the House of Representatives has passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act by a resounding vote of 403-12 and, in the days following, the Senate was poised to approve it under unanimous consent procedures that would fast-tracked it to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Unfortunately, a lone senator—perhaps because of political principle or maybe the results of this spring’s Republican primary season put more time on his hands (I’ll let you be the judge of that)—decided he had better get around to reading that darn bill.