Office of the President Mark S. DeFrancesco, MD, MBA, FACOG

THE AMERICAN CONGRESS OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS WOMENS HEALTH CARE PHYSICIANS

409 12TH STREET SW, WASHINGTON DC 20024-2188 Phone: 202/638-5577

July 28, 2015 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Majority Leader 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Harry Reid Senate Minority Leader 522 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leaders McConnell and Reid: On behalf of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), representing 58,000 physicians and partners in womens health, I am writing to encourage you to bring to the Senate floor bipartisan legislation to reform the decades old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). While the bill in its entirety is outside the scope of ACOGs expertise, we know that the current law governing chemicals is neither effective nor adequately protective of the patients we serve. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, S 697, the only bipartisan toxic chemical reform legislation in the Senate, will better serve vulnerable populations than current law. As practitioners of womens health, we are consistently seeking ways to advance the health of our patients and to improve outcomes. We know that an important outcome of pregnancy is no longer just a healthy newborn, but a human being optimally programmed for health from infancy through old age. Harmful chemicals can cross the placenta, and in some cases can accumulate in the fetus, resulting in higher fetal than maternal exposure. Robust scientific evidence has emerged since TSCAs passage almost 40 years ago demonstrating that preconception and prenatal environmental exposures can have a profound and lasting impact on reproductive health across the life course. TSCA is an outdated law in dire need of revisions to bring the regulation of chemicals into the twenty-first century. S 697 represents an effort to put in place a sensible federal framework to assess, evaluate, and regulate chemicals. Key provisions of the bill are especially important to the health of women, infants, and children:

A definition of potentially exposed or susceptible population that includes pregnant women, infants and children;

A safety standard that clarifies that health and safety, not cost, will be considered during chemical safety assessments and determinations;

The establishment of a Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals to provide independent advice and consultation, including expertise on chemical exposures to women, children and other potentially exposed or susceptible populations;

The establishment of a request and notification system, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to ensure that physicians treating patients with potential exposure to harmful chemicals have swift access to confidential chemical information needed to treat our patients in a format that is readily accessible and understandable;

THE AMERICAN CONGRESS OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS WOMENS HEALTH CARE PHYSICIANS

409 12TH STREET SW, WASHINGTON DC 20024-2188 Phone: 202/638-5577

A framework that requires an appropriately shorter timeframe for a chemical safety assessment and determination process; and

Clarification that non-animal testing must be scientifically reliable before replacing animal testing.

The time is now to fix our broken chemical safety system and pass TSCA reform. We appreciate your consideration and leadership in bringing this bipartisan legislation to the Senate floor for a vote. Sincerely,

Mark S. DeFrancesco, MD, MBA, FACOG President cc: The Honorable Tom Udall The Honorable David Vitter