Another EPA Power Grab in the Offing

Sources in Washington say Sen. Frank Lautenberg is drafting a new version of his Kids Safe Chemicals Act, which stalled out in 2008 after environmentalists complained the bill was toothless and didn’t grant the EPA enough power to regulate chemicals used to make products. Lautenberg’s new version of the bill is likely to increase the EPA’s authority to limit – or even ban – the use of common chemicals.

As the EPA’s carbon “endangerment finding” in December has demonstrated, it might not be such a good idea to vest virtually unlimited power in a single government agency, especially one that has become as politicized as the EPA.

And like the global warming hysteria the “endangerment finding” was supposed to address, the argument in favor of this aggressive power grab is thin, based on emotional, not scientific appeals, and fairly obviously designed to encroach on the free market. One organization advocating for the EPA power grab, “Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families,” is actually sponsoring a virtual Million Baby Crawl on Washington. Expect the stunts to get more ridiculous after Lautenberg’s bill drops.

There’s actually one really good reason to not grant the EPA the unilateral authority to ban any and all chemicals used in the products we buy: Chemicals are used to make nearly all products we buy. Consider the computer you are using right now. Dozens of chemicals were used during its manufacturing to keep it from overheating, blowing up, or melting down. Many of these chemicals are hazardous but all are safe for their intended use. If Lautenberg overreaches with his bill and the EPA changes the standard for what it considers safe for intended use, American manufacturers who rely on these chemicals could be out of the game while foreign competitors gain yet another leg up. Remember: The EPA would have the authority to ban chemicals used in American-made products, not those made in China or any other country that already flouts laws and commonsense.

The Toxic Substances Control Act, the law Lautenberg is looking to reform or replace, hasn’t been modernized since 1976. It might very well make sense to take another look at the law. But handing over more power to a politicized government agency would be a disaster.