Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who died in 2013, focused much of his advocacy on chemical and environmental regulation.
PATERSON -- Both of New Jersey's U.S. senators were in Paterson on Monday afternoon taking a victory lap over the recent passage of a chemical safety reform bill and praising the late U.S. senator they credit with kickstarting reform efforts.
Speaking at a press conference at the Great Falls National Historical Park, Sen. Cory Booker said the Frank R. Lautenberg Safety for the 21st Century Act finally "gives teeth to regulators who can now make sure that the chemicals in so many products are safe and are not leading toward cancers and other illnesses."
"I am proud of the long-overdue improvements I fought to include in this bill, including provisions that strengthen (Environmental Protection Agency's) ability to regulate toxic chemicals, allow states to continue to co-enforce with EPA, and minimize animal testing when scientifically reliable alternatives exist," Booker said in a statement.
The legislation mandates all chemicals in commerce will be reviewed for safety where its predecessor -- the Toxic Substances Control Act -- provided a loophole, Sen. Robert Menendez said, limiting the scope of its regulation protecting the public from dangerous chemicals to the "least burdensome requirements," which incidentally barred the federal government from regulating asbestos.
"This bill will finally give EPA the authority to ban unsafe chemicals, and sets an aggressive, but attainable schedule for evaluating them," he said.
Lautenberg's advocacy work toward stronger chemical safety regulation, Booker said, arose from his father's death at a young age from cancer. Lautenberg was convinced his father's cancer resulted from his time in the silk mills in Paterson, he said.
The legislation requires the EPA test chemicals using "sound and credible science" and impose regulations if they are shown to pose a health risk.
The EPA would also set priorities for evaluating chemicals and would not first have to show they pose a potential risk. Manufacturers could ask the EPA to evaluate a particular chemical if they are willing to cover those costs.
Booker did, however, call the legislation "a compromise bill" that came together over months of negotiations and years of input from activists, environmentalists, public health advocates and industry experts.
Commenting on the 11 Tony's won by "Hamilton: An American Musical" on Sunday night, Menendez compared the late senator to the first Secretary of the Treasury, whose statue is featured in the national park.
"Hamilton was a visionary and so was Frank Lautenberg," Menendez said. "And we have a new visionary in Cory Booker who represents the transition from one generation to another."
The bill is now expected to go before President Obama for his signature.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.