According to American Chemistry Council (ACC) President and CEO Jack N. Gerard, his group “led the charge for federal chemical security legislation, and after more than 5 years, Congress finally passed legislation last October granting DHS the authority to regulate chemical security.”
He pointed out that DHS was given only 6 months to issue rules and is within one week of completing this rulemaking.
“Changing the underlying statute this late in the game can only derail this process and frustrate the goal of securing all of the nation's high-risk chemical facilities. Congress should support these regulations, not undermine the DHS rules before they are even implemented,” Gerard insisted.
“If Congress meddles with the law, chemical facilities that are already implementing stringent security measures will be left in limbo about their regulatory obligations,” he added. “The nation will again question why Congress continues to debate this issue instead of allowing DHS to do its job and enhance security at chemical facilities.”
Like other nationally identified critical infrastructure, such as airlines and nuclear plants, Gerard said chemical facilities need a uniform security strategy that crosses state borders and improves protection.