U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) introduced H.R. 4075, The Safe Cosmetics Modernization Act, Nov. 18.
"This legislation reforms and improves the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to streamline and strengthen consumer safety requirements without strangling small businesses in the cosmetic industry with onerous regulations," said Sessions, who is Chairman of the House Rules Committee.
"In addition, this bill creates uniform standards and provides entrepreneurs and innovators in the cosmetic industry with the opportunities they need to compete in both national and international marketplaces," he added.
"I am proud to lead this important initiative to modernize these outdated regulations, provide businesses of all sizes with the opportunity to thrive, and ensure Americans have access to safe cosmetics.”
The Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors is "proud to support" the federal legislation, say ICMAD officials.
"This legislation increases consumer protections on cosmetics while allowing continued growth of small and entrepreneurial cosmetics enterprises in the United States," stated Pam Busiek, ICMAD president and CEO. "The bill will empower these small businesses who have been the source of product innovation and creativity in our industry to compete on the national and international stage through national uniformity of regulation."
According to ICMAD officials, H.R. 4075 will ...
- modernize and improve the Food and Drug Administration's ability to assure the safety of cosmetic products by examining ingredient safety, establishing manufacturing processes, tracking and quickly addressing adverse health impacts from potentially unsafe products and requiring that all manufacturers be registered with the FDA.
- further allow the FDA to align its powers with that of the United States' trading partners in the international market.
- meet consumer demand for distributing the best information on the safety of cosmetic products.
Last April U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced S. 1014, the Personal Care Products Safety Act. (See "Federal Bill Introduced on Oversight of Personal-Care Products.") When that bill was introduced, ICMAD immediately stated its opposition to it as drafted. Other industry trade associations—from large and influential to small and highly niched—have announced that they're for that bill or they're against it. One major industry trade association has yet to declare its position on that bill. Also, other entities—including beauty manufacturers/suppliers, environmental organizations and consumer groups—have weighed in with their various positions on that bill.
[Image of U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions courtesy of his website, https://sessions.house.gov/index.cfm/home ]