Several key issues have emerged as pivotal in ongoing efforts to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Progress on these complex issues is central to the success of TSCA reform. To foster further discussion of these critical topics, the Environmental Law Institute convened a series of issue-specific lunchtime teleconferences during the summer and fall of 2011 to provide a forum for focused dialogue among key players. The first panel of the series, held on June 30, 2011, set the stage for the series by examining the status of TSCA reform in the larger context of the U.S.