The chemical industry’s top lobby group has reportedly drafted a chemical safety bill before Congress. The bill is sponsored by senators Tom Udall, a Democrat, and David Vitter, a Republican. But Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says a digital copy she received proves the authorship of lobbyists. Information imbedded inside Microsoft Word shows the “company” of origin for the document is the American Chemistry Council.
Sen. Barbara Boxer: “Now, maybe I am old-fashioned, but I don’t believe that a regulated industry should be so intimately involved in writing a bill that regulates them. The voices of public health and safety organizations that speak for our citizens must be heard. Their views must not be drowned out by the very industry that is supposed to be regulated.”