A bipartisan bill that would update regulation of harmful chemicals for the first time in nearly 40 years is drawing opposition from some Democrats and environmental groups, who charged on Wednesday that the measure is a step backward in protecting health and the environment.

The bill is proposed by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Tom Udall, D-N.M., who call it a commonsense update to a 1976 law widely seen as ineffective.

The bill would set safety standards for tens of thousands of chemicals that are now unregulated and offer protections for those vulnerable to their effects such as pregnant women, children and workers. It also would set deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency to act, while blocking states' action in cases where EPA is addressing the same issues.

Regulation of chemicals took on new urgency after a crippling spill in West Virginia last year contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people. The chemical, crude MCHM, is one of thousands unregulated under current law.

The bill, a product of two years' negotiations, is named after the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat who pushed for chemical reform before his death in 2013.

Lautenberg's widow, Bonnie, testified Wednesday that while the bill is not perfect, it is an improvement over current law and would protect families from toxic chemicals such as asbestos, formaldehyde and hundreds of others.

"Please work out your differences for every family," she implored her husband's former colleagues. "Far too many chemicals are on the market without any sort of testing."

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