Bipartisan efforts at just the right time By Rex W. Tillerson Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation
have announced approximately $150 billion in investments. The chemical industry is build- ing new plants – and retrofit- ting others to leverage U.S. natural gas. The data on nominal construction spending shows construction spending by the chemical industry increased near- ly 140 percent from June 2014 to June 2015, with the growth rate exceeding 150 percent in the first half of this year alone. Investments and jobs If all of the industry’s invest- ments move forward, they will create nearly $300 billion in new economic output and lead to more than 400,000 new jobs. The investments would also lead to $21 billion in permanent
new federal, state and local tax revenues by 2023. But the future successes of the shale revolution and America’s manufacturing renaissance are not forgone conclusions. We need policies equal to this historic opportunity. The good news is that the chemical sector may be getting some timely assistance from a rare instance of Washington bipartisanship. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have come together in an effort to modernize the Toxic Substances Controls Act (TSCA), the outdated regulations affecting the chemical industry. The proposed reforms will help bring 1970s legislation into the 21st century.
It’s taken years of bipartisan work and negotiation, but these changes are just the comprehen- sive overhaul we need. Just as important, these bipar- tisan efforts appear to have an excellent chance of succeeding. The reform is drawing impressive support from the industry, building trade unions and organizations including the Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, March of Dimes and U.S. Humane Society. Modernization By modernizing the regulations governing the chemical industry, we can strengthen and clarify the role of government in overseeing and protecting public health. The proposed reforms would provide
Evidence continues to show that the U.S. economy is struggling. And economists from across the ideological spectrum have rightly observed that by historic stan- dards, this is one of the weakest U.S. recoveries on record. But even in the midst of anemic growth and falling labor- force participation rates, one sec- tor continues to power forward: America’s chemical industry. The reason for the resurgence is well known: Vast new supplies of natural gas flowing from U.S. shale deposits have given Ameri- can chemical manufacturers a global advantage. The response from the indus- try is a flurry of activity that could reap benefits for decades to come. Chemical manufacturers
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