House Committee Slates Jan. 22 Hearing for TSCA Changes 

The House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership has introduced legislation to reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to collect administrative fees for chemical reviews under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) while proposing additional new changes to the statute.  

It will hold a legislative hearing on Jan. 22, 2026: “Chemicals in Commerce: Legislative Proposal to Modernize America’s Chemical Safety Law, Strengthen Critical Supply Chains, and Grow Domestic Manufacturing.”

Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment are leading the effort.

“Since our first hearing of this Congress, our Committee has been working to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Palmer. “Targeted and measured reforms will increase accountability, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and safeguard the health and safety of our communities. The legislation we’ll be discussing in this hearing would support these goals and help to ensure TSCA processes are working effectively to evaluate chemical safety and support American innovation.”

About TSCA

TSCA defines how new and existing chemicals are regulated by EPA, which has jurisdiction over implementing the TSCA law by overseeing the chemical management process for both new and existing chemicals.

According to the TSCA statute signed into law in 2016, EPA must review and decide on a PMN submission within 90 to 180 days. And while the bill was successfully signed into law with bipartisan support, the implementation has encountered challenges. 

ACI Insight

With TSCA changes top of mind in the House, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) advocates for targeted changes to TSCA that could drastically improve the review and approval of new chemistries for not only our members, but for cleaning product and ingredient manufacturers across the industry. 

ACI encourages bipartisan support of a targeted legislative amendment that improves EPA’s ability to process Pre-Manufacture Notice (PMN) reviews consistently and predictably. This would improve ingredient suppliers and formulators’ ability to innovate and introduce new chemistries and products to American consumers.  

“ACI and our member manufacturers appreciate the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s approach for not wholesale, but targeted changes for new and existing chemical reviews under TSCA” said Blake Nanney, ACI Director of Government Affairs. “Americans should have access to the most sustainable and innovative cleaning products in the world. Improving the law would help get these products and chemistries to market more quickly, keeping the American manufacturing competitive domestically and internationally, ultimately resulting in more choices and benefits for our U.S. consumers.”

Manufacturers have experienced significant delays in EPA’s ability to process PMN reviews within the statutory timeline, leading to a backlog of pending new chemical reviews. 

As negotiations continue among legislators, ACI continues to press Congress to make the necessary changes to instill more predictability and efficiency in the TSCA chemical management process particularly for new and existing chemical reviews under Section 5 and Section 6 of the law, respectively.   

“ACI is a strong advocate for these reforms because innovation is critical for industry growth and better choices for American consumers and families,” said Nanney.  

The American Chemistry Council also is in support of reforms, as reported in Happi.