FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Adrienne Appell
Toy Industry Association
646.520.4863                       
aappell@toyassociation.org

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS LONG-AWAITED TSCA REFORM BILL INTO LAW

NEW YORK, NY | June 22, 2016 – Critical legislation reforming the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was signed into law earlier today by U.S. President Barack Obama, representing the first meaningful update to TSCA in 40 years. The new legislation reflects scientific and technological advances and ensures that a uniform federal policy will regulate chemicals across all 50 states.

“The Toy Industry Association is steadfast in our commitment to toy safety and has been an ardent supporter of necessary TSCA reform,” stated Steve Pasierb, President & CEO of the Toy Industry Association (TIA).  “This is meaningful legislation that is good for families and our members alike while removing the pressure felt by some state and county legislatures to do something absent federal action.  Years of work and hundreds of advocacy meetings with legislators on both sides of the aisle have led to a positive outcome.  We applaud Congress for their leadership and look forward to working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as they begin prioritizing chemicals for review.”

In recent years, as Congress struggled to pass TSCA reform, many states and even counties took it upon themselves to pass their own laws for regulating chemicals, forcing companies to comply with a complex patchwork of state and local requirements that did not advance product safety and served only to confuse parents and other toy shoppers. The reformed TSCA law now empowers the EPA to oversee and regulate chemicals nationwide and contains preemptive language so that individual states will not be able to ban or regulate substances under evaluation by the EPA.

The law also focuses on creating risk-based standards for the safe use of chemicals, rather than relying on the precautionary principle approach, and requires the EPA to sort TSCA’s inventory of chemicals into high-priority and low-priority substances and to follow a specific procedure for assessing those chemicals.

The Association’s goal is to continue to ensure that chemicals are regulated consistently across all 50 states in a manner that keeps American children and families safe while fostering continued innovation by TIA members.

About the Toy Industry Association     www.toyassociation.org
Founded in 1916, the Toy Industry Association™, Inc. (TIA) is the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. Over the past 100 years, TIA has led the health and growth of the toy industry, and today its 900+ members account for an estimated 90% of the annual $24 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Association serves as the industry’s voice on the cognitive, social, emotional and creative benefits of play, and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development to consumers and media. TIA has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, government, consumers and industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.