skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Senate Toxic Chemical Bill Called "Intrusion" on States' Rights

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 28, 2015   

AUGUSTA, Maine - After almost 40 years, there is little question the nation's Toxic Substances Control Act is in need of an update, but local consumer advocates say a proposal pending in the U.S. Senate could mean fewer health and safety protections.

Mike Belliveau, executive director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center in Portland, says it's a good thing lawmakers are paying attention to the toxic chemical issue – but he says the way the bill is currently written is an "unprecedented intrusion" on state's rights.

"We need to make sure we preserve the authority of states like Maine to take action under our state law to protect its citizens," says Belliveau, "while going ahead and strengthening the federal law."

Belliveau says Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are unlikely to support the measure as it is currently written, in part because both are concerned about preserving the state's authority to take action under Maine's Kid Safe Products Act.

According to Belliveau, retailers like Home Depot are showing leadership by adopting policies that call for phasing out products that contain high levels of dangerous chemicals like phthalates in 2015.

"When you have leadership in the marketplace and leadership at the state level, it drives the attention of Congress," he says. "We hope that Congress gets it right and does not chill the ability of states like Maine to take protective action, and doesn't chill market leaders like Home Depot from moving forward."

Senate Bill 697 was introduced by Senators David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, and Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat. It has the support of the chemical industry.

The bill gets a markup Tuesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021