"Questions Raised on Authorship of Chemicals Bill"

Did the chemical industry's main lobbying group write the bill to update the Toxic Substances Control Act? The top Democrat on the Senate Environment Committee, California's Barbara Boxer, says computer forensics show a draft of the "bipartisan" bill supported by the American Chemistry Council was written by the ACC itself. ACC denies it. Boxer has a competing bill. The controversy will erupt at a hearing today.

"WASHINGTON — It’s certainly well-known in Washington that when it comes to the making of the sausage, lobbyists frequently have their thumbs in the pork. But usually, they don’t actually leave their electronic signatures on bills.

The elaborately titled Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act makes its debut at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Wednesday. It’s a high-stakes bill: If it becomes law, it would be the first update in 39 years of federal regulation of toxic substances like asbestos, formaldehyde and hundreds of other chemicals.

In recent days, a draft of the bill — considered the product of more than two years of negotiation and collaboration between Sen. David Vitter, R-La., Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and both chemical industry and environmental groups — was circulated by Udall’s office ahead of the hearing. The draft bill, obtained by Hearst Newspapers, is in the form of a Microsoft Word document. Rudimentary digital forensics — going to “advanced properties” in Word — shows the “company” of origin to be the American Chemistry Council."

David McCumber reports for the San Francisco Chronicle March 16, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Industry-Supported Chemical Bill Straight From 'Merchants Of Doubt' Playbook, Critics Say" (Huffington Post)

"Boxer: Chemical Bill Came From Industry" (The Hill)

"Chemical Reform Bill Is 'Deeply Problematic,' Law Experts Say" (The Hill)

"Path Forward Seen for Chemical Safety Overhaul" (The Hill)

"Markey: Some Elements of Our Bill Will Make It in Final Chemical Reform" (The Hill)

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 03/18/2015