Volume 164, No. 38 covering the 2nd Session of the 115th Congress (2017 - 2018) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE INVALUABLE HELP OF ANDY IGREJAS IN STRENGTHENING THE LAUTENBERG TSCA REFORM ACT” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E253-E254 on March 5, 2018.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE INVALUABLE HELP OF ANDY IGREJAS IN STRENGTHENING THE LAUTENBERG
TSCA REFORM ACT
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HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Monday, March 5, 2018
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding contributions Andy Igrejas has made in improving the lives of the American people through his tireless advocacy and expertise in reducing public exposure to harmful chemicals.
A native of Bloomfield, New Jersey and a proud graduate of Rutgers College, Andy has worked on environmental health and government reform issues in New Jersey, California, and Washington, D.C. over his decades of service.
Every day, we see the steps the Environmental Protection Agency is taking to implement the Lautenberg TSCA Reform law passed in 2016. While that implementation is so far not living up to the letter of the law, we will continue to work to hold the EPA accountable for meeting its essential duty under the law: removing toxic chemicals from commerce and from our homes.
We are only able to do this because of important changes that were made in the Lautenberg Act as it went through Congress--changes that came about because of Andy's tireless work and dedication as Executive Director of the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Coalition.
The work to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act began in earnest in 2009, when the major stakeholders published principles for reform. It was that year that Andy organized the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition to create a unified voice for health, environmental, and labor organizations interested in advancing chemical policy reform.
With Andy as its director, the coalition has grown to include 450 organizations and small businesses from across the country and across the political spectrum. By unifying these groups, Andy made their voices stronger, strong enough to stand up to extraordinary expenditures from industry interests.
Andy's work also kept the interest in TSCA reform alive when negotiating a deal seemed impossible. Andy's appreciation for the role of entrepreneurship and the private sector in creating positive social change led to the coalition's decision to launch Mind the Store, an initiative challenging the nation's largest retailers to restrict hazardous chemicals in their supply chains. It was that effort at the retail level, along with legislative efforts in the states, which kept industry at the table pursuing a comprehensive federal program.
I want to thank Andy for his bold thinking, tireless efforts, and strategic counsel to me and my staff, without which many of the public health and environmental improvements in the Lautenberg TSCA reform law would not have been possible.
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