Kelly Ayotte's Pretty Psyched About Her Political Coup Today

She sponsored the Sunscreen Innovation Act, which President Obama just signed, and that's totally important. Let her explain why.

While she got picked on by Twitter conservatives for doing Big Government Stuff -- many criticisms (including my own first take) suggested that she learn what "limited government" means -- in fact the act is intended to reign in government a little bit.

The FDA has been delaying ruling on whether certain ingredients could be used in sunscreens, in some cases, for more than a decade. Some of these ingredients have been used in Europe and Asia for years without any apparent adverse consequences.

The bill in question apparently directs the FDA to act with more alacrity on these ingredients.

The last approval for widespread use of a sunscreen ingredient was in 1990. But since 2002, there have been eight ingredients submitted to the FDA that are still awaiting the agency’s review. Many of these ingredients haven't received any FDA attention for years, not even negative feedback. The new law will force the FDA to make timely decisions on each of the pending ingredients within a specific timeframe. Some decisions are expected to be made within six months. New ingredients added since the law is enacted must be responded to within a year.

Eh, it's minor, but this certainly seems like the sort of thing government should be doing -- that is, working to make other parts of government more responsive.

posted by Ace at 07:24 PM

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