WASHINGTON (March 9, 2017) – The American Chemistry Council (ACC) issued the following statement in support of the H.R. 1430, the "Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017" (or The HONEST Act) introduced by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and H.R. 1431 "EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2017," introduced by Congressman Frank Lucus (R-OK).
“Consistency and transparency are key to the regulatory certainty our industry needs to grow and create jobs. In some instances, EPA has fallen short of employing the highest-quality, best-available science in their regulatory decision making.
“It is critical that the regulated community and the public have confidence that decisions reached by EPA are grounded in transparent and reproducible science. By ensuring that the EPA utilizes high quality science and shares underlying data used to reach decisions, the HONEST Act can help foster a regulatory environment that will allow the U.S. business of chemistry to continue to develop safe, innovative products that Americans depend on in their everyday lives.
“The Science Advisory Board Reform Act would improve the peer review process – a critical component of the scientific process used by EPA in their regulatory decisions about potential risks to human health or the environment. The Act would make peer reviewers accountable for responding to public comment, strengthen policies to address conflicts of interest, ensure engagement of a wide range of perspectives of qualified scientific experts in EPA's scientific peer review panels and increase transparency in peer review reports.
“We commend Chairman Smith and Congressman Lucas for their leadership and commitment to advance these important issues.”