On April 29, 2014, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on the revised version of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA2). Details of the hearing provided by the Subcommittee, including its background memorandum, are available online.

Subcommittee Chair John Shimkus (R-IL) issued the original version of CICA in March 2014. CICA2 was released on April 22, 2014. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s (B&C®) detailed summary and analysis of CICA2 is available online. B&C also issued a detailed summary and analysis of the April 29, 2014, Subcommittee hearing, which is available online.

The following witnesses testified at this week's hearing: The Honorable Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); The Honorable Calvin Dooley, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council; Dr. Beth Bosley, President, Boron Specialties, LLC, on behalf of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates; Mr. Mark Greenwood, Principal, Greenwood Environmental Counsel, PLLC; Dr. Len Sauers, Vice President, Global Sustainability, Proctor & Gamble Company; Mr. Steven Goldberg, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Regulatory & Government Affairs, BASF; Mr. Andy Igrejas, National Campaign Director, Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families; and The Honorable Michael Moore, on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

As discussed in more detail in the B&C summary, the hearing was very partisan. Shimkus defended his revised draft of CICA2 and argued that it attempts to address concerns raised by the Democrats on the Subcommittee. Subcommittee Democrats, including Ranking Member Paul Tonko (D-NY), argued that the revised bill fails to address their concerns. Jones asserted that CICA2 would need to be strengthened in certain areas to ensure necessary protection against harmful chemicals. For instance, he stressed the need for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform legislation to include Administration principles on TSCA reform established in 2009. As explained in B&C's analysis, Jones also "claimed in his written testimony that CICA2 'does not include a mechanism that would provide for the timely review of existing chemicals that may pose a concern.' He also stated that '[b]y including a standard very similar to the current TSCA Section 6 authorities, the draft bill fails to address another key element of meaningful chemical safety reform' and also criticized CICA2 for including a consideration of costs or the availability of substitutes in risk management."

Given the continued partisan nature of the TSCA reform debate, particularly within the House of Representatives, prospects for enactment of reform in this shortened election year appear to be slim.