Alex Formuzis’ opinion piece on the Senate Chemical Safety Improvement Act is little more than a character assassination of one of the legislation’s sponsors rather than an examination on the merits of the bill.

Most stakeholders agree that the bipartisan CSIA is the best vehicle to modernize the nation’s chemical control law. There is a broad range of stakeholder support, including from environmental groups, who were among the first to hail the bill’s introduction as a “policy and political breakthrough.” Prior partisan efforts have fallen flat, and the level of cooperation we have seen thus far is unprecedented.

No law can be all things to all people, but the CSIA is a major improvement over the status quo. To move forward, we should avoid ad hominem attacks and get to the important work of modernizing the Toxic Substances Control Act.

— Bill Allmond, vice president of government and public relations, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, Washington, D.C.