The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on March 20, 2024, on “Examining PFAS as Hazardous Substances.” The scheduled witnesses include:...
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January 22, 2024
Senate Committee Will Hold Hearing on January 24, 2024, on Oversight of Implementation of the TSCA Amendments
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is scheduled to hold a hearing on January 24, 2024, on “Oversight of Toxic Substances Control Act Amendments Implementation.” The only scheduled witness is Michal Freedhoff, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The Committee held a similar hearing on June 22, 2022, the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 24, 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act to strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program. According to Klobuchar’s July 24, 2023, press release, the bill would: Strengthen markets for farmers while also supporting well-paying manufacturing jobs; Allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set...
July 25, 2023
Uhlmann Confirmed as EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
On July 20, 2023, the Senate voted 53 to 46 to confirm David Uhlmann to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As reported in our September 17, 2021, memorandum, Uhlmann was the Director of the Environmental Policy and Law Program at the University of Michigan Law School. Prior to academia, Uhlmann spent 17 years as a federal prosecutor, including seven years with the...
On May 18, 2023, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Supercomputing for Safer Chemicals (SUPERSAFE) Act (S. 1685, H.R. 3457). According to Padilla’s May 18, 2023, press release, the legislation would establish a SUPERSAFE Consortium led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to identify chemicals that are safe to use in commerce through science-backed decision making.” The press release states that the bill would direct the use...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On April 11, 2023, a bipartisan group of legislators led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVO); and setting RFS volumes...
April 25, 2023
Senate Committee Will Hold Hearing on Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on April 27, 2023, on “Impacts of Plastic Production and Disposal on Environmental Justice Communities.” Witnesses will include: Last week, Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Chair of the Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus, Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the Committee, and John Boozman (R-AR), also a member of the Committee, reintroduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation focused on...
March 1, 2023
Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on February 15, 2023, on “The Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a National Clean Fuels Program.” The Committee heard from the following witnesses: Michael J. Graff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), American Air Liquide Holdings Incorporated; Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; and Chris Spear, President and...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 26, 2022, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Next Generation Fuels Act (S. 4621), which would aim to leverage higher-octane fuels to improve engine efficiency and performance. According to Grassley’s July 26, 2022, press release, allowing the sale of fuels with greater octane levels would increase the amount of ethanol that can be used in the fuel...
June 16, 2022
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Will Hold Hearing on Implementation of the Lautenberg Act
On June 22, 2022, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on “Toxic Substances Control Act Amendments Implementation.” This coincides with the sixth anniversary of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) that amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The only witness scheduled is Michal Freedhoff, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety...