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On March 4, 2026, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held a legislative hearing to examine a discussion draft of the Toxic Substances Control Act Fee Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2026. The hearing focused on reauthorizing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) user fees that support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) chemical review programs and exploring potential reforms to the Agency’s new chemicals review process. The TSCA fee provisions...

The release of a discussion draft to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) offers an early window into how chemical policy may evolve in Congress, even as the legislative path forward remains uncertain. While the proposal itself has already been examined in detail elsewhere, its broader significance lies in what it reveals about congressional priorities, institutional pressures, and the ongoing effort to recalibrate chemical regulation nearly a decade after the 2016 TSCA amendments. The...

As the 2026 election cycle comes into sharper focus, Congress is entering a period of unusual transition. A growing number of Republican lawmakers as well as some Democrats have announced retirements, resignations, or decisions not to seek re-election. This reflects internal strain within the party and broader dissatisfaction with the pace and structure of congressional governance. While political realignments are not new, the current trend raises important questions about how sustained turnover...

Download a PDF of the Forecast 2026. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our Forecast 2026. Our distinguished global team of chemical experts worked hard to summarize our collective best guess on what to expect in the New Year regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy...

It appears increasingly likely that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies will face yet another shutdown at the end of January 2026. When Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year (FY) by September 30, 2025, what ensued was a record-setting 43-day closure of the U.S. government. November 12, 2025’s, Hail Mary Senate agreement funds the government at existing spending levels -- but only until January 30, 2026. The bill that...

On March 20, 2025, House Republicans passed the “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) as part of H.R. 1, a sweeping legislative package that includes dramatic rollbacks of many of the clean energy tax credits established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). While the bill has little chance of advancing in the Senate in its current form, its proposed cuts offer a window into shifting political priorities and could have significant implications for the U.S. clean energy manufacturing sector. Subtitle...

Ponder the following existential question: Who does their job less effectively? Members of Congress, or employees of federal agencies? Let’s examine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees versus those responsible for legislating environmental laws. Congress has not been able to reauthorize environmental statutes for years, with some (most) needing significant attention. EPA relies on 1990 Clean Air Act amendments to sort out air pollution issues and address climate change...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on February 4, 2025, announced the “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative” (PGAC Initiative). It consists of five pillars and is intended to serve as a roadmap to guide EPA’s actions under Administrator Zeldin. The five pillars are:  Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American; Restore American Energy Dominance; Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership; Make the United States...

In a development no one could have predicted several weeks ago, the first hearing of the 119th Congress in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) focused on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and amendments to TSCA that were enacted more than eight years ago. The E&C Subcommittee on Environment (the Subcommittee) hearing on January 22, 2025, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” featured...

Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced H.J. Res. 27, a resolution expressing congressional disapproval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule on trichloroethylene (TCE). This joint resolution is an attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn EPA’s recent TCE rule issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Introduction of a resolution of disapproval is the first step in the process of overturning a...

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on January 23, 2025, advanced the nomination of Lee Zeldin to the full Senate for a vote to confirm him as the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 11-8 vote to advance the nomination was largely along party lines, with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Zeldin’s nomination. Zeldin is expected to be confirmed by the Senate. EPW held a hearing on the...

The Subcommittee on Environment of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has announced that its first hearing of the 119th Congress will focus on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The hearing, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” is scheduled for January 22, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry for...

Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), has scheduled a hearing on the Nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Thursday, January 16, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be held in room 406 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building and will be viewable by webcast as well. It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Zeldin shares about his priorities as EPA Administrator and how the Trump...

The opening hours of the 119th Congress provided an interesting look at the two bodies of Congress, the United States House of Representatives (House) and the United States Senate (Senate), and offered a glimpse of what to expect from the leaders of those bodies during the next two years. While Republicans control the House and the Senate, their slim majorities will present challenges in legislating during the 119th Congress. In the House, it will take only a handful of Republican defections to...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our 2025 Forecast. For all the reasons you might imagine, our seasoned team was especially challenged this year in speculating on what to expect in 2025 regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives. Given the European Parliamentary...

While Election Day was November 5, 2024, the final results of the races for Congress were announced on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Representative-elect Adam Gray (D-CA) narrowly defeated Representative John Duarte (R-CA), resulting in one of the smallest margins in history (220-215) to begin the 119th Congress on January 3, 2025. That narrow margin will shrink by three seats in several steps beginning January 3, 2025. Former-Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) resigned from the 118th Congress and...

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) posted a November 30, 2024, update to its report entitled “Gene-Edited Plants: Regulation and Issues for Congress.” Gene-edited plants are regulated under the U.S. Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, which coordinates how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate biotechnology products to ensure their safety. Over time, the...

On August 17, 2021, Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Paul Tonko (D-NY), Chair of the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to request information regarding “concerning reported irregularities” in EPA’s chemical review program. The Committee’s August...

As reported in the trade press on February 14, 2019, following budget negotiations late on Wednesday, February 13, several legislative riders did not make it into the conference report for the final fiscal year (FY) 2019 omnibus spending package.  This purportedly includes an extension of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 3) or the long-awaited Reauthorization known as “PRIA 4.”  This may be the result of political pressure to avoid another government...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On January 10, 2019, more than 600 environmental groups signed a letter submitted to U.S. Representatives urging them to consider certain principles on climate change as a Green New Deal is developed.  As the 116th Congress begins to take into account climate change legislation, environmental groups would like to see affirmative actions focused on six key areas: Fossil fuel phase-out; Transition into renewable energy; The role of public transportation; The power of the...