As we dive into the 2024 presidential election year, never before have I been so happy to be in one. 2023 was a rocky year, to say the least. It began with an unbelievable U.S. House Speaker election process for a position held for only nine months. Then, we experienced an appalling case of political malfeasance (think junior senator from Kentucky) that has jeopardized the future of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. The year ended with heightened strains on the supply chain once again, attributed to pirates on the Red Sea and droughts in the Panama Canal.
Sadly, 2024 is picking up right where 2023 left off. There remains no shortage of must-achieve items on the ACD legislative docket. And, considering Congress wasn’t accomplishing much anyway, the added factors of a presidential election year will further hinder progress and intensify the difficulty of achieving these crucial objectives. Nonetheless, the Alliance is redoubling its efforts to secure a long-term reauthorization of the CFATS program, convince lawmakers to reinstate both the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) immediately, retroactively to January 1, 2021, eliminate the Superfund Tax that no one wants to deal with (including the IRS), provide ACD members with relief from the expense of replacing current PFAS fire suppression systems, and protect chemical facilities from unauthorized drone incursions.
While the legislative branch of the government seems fully stifled, the opposite can be said of the regulatory agencies running under this administration. On this front, ACD will be playing strong defense. With the Biden Administration being in the last year of its first term, and a second term somewhat in question, there is zero doubt that this administration will unleash rules and regulations like we have never seen before. We will likely soon see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue its Risk Management Program final rule and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration publish its Hazard Communication Standard final rule, both of which will cause major headaches for the chemical distribution industry. Throw in a host of other potential changes, mostly from the EPA in the areas of the Toxic Substances Control Act, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, air emissions, and environmental justice, and this will just be the beginning of the regulatory gauntlet coming our way for the remainder of the year.
As the Alliance continues to push its legislative agenda and oppose a large part of this administration’s regulatory scheme, please do not underestimate your role as an active part of the political process. Hosting a site visit with your House and Senate members, responding to our various grassroots alerts on ChemReactions, and participating in our Washington Fly-In on May 15-16, 2024, are all key activities that I hope you will undertake as we work through 2024!
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