Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, joined a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill today urging action on compromise legislation to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time in 39 years.

O’Mara said today:

"Today I joined with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators calling for the Senate to pass compromise legislation improving chemical safety protections for America’s wildlife and public health. I commend Sen. Burr’s support for renewing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a critical wildlife protection that Congress should never have allowed to expire, but attaching it to Toxic Substances Control Act reform is not the right way to achieve LWCF renewal.

"In an era marked by partisan gridlock, this is a chance to achieve real, meaningful progress to strengthen chemical safety and protect both fish and wildlife and the sportsmen and women who depend on them. When toxic chemicals go unchecked they accumulate in the fish and wildlife that we love—and there are few things more heartbreaking than knowing that kids, often in cities, are catching and eating fish that are unsafe. This compromise would move us one step closer towards ensuring safe and healthy wildlife across our nation and I urge Congress to find a path forward."