--- title: Sunscreen Innovation Act Passes House Subcommittee description: A bill for better sunscreen is on its way to Congress canonical: https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-16T15:18:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:10:36.803Z article:section: Health og:title: We're One Step Closer to Better Sunscreen og:description: A bill for better sunscreen is on its way to Congress og:url: https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b23079cc68de12/69869becd0b6f27aa23054ca/112299708-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 112299708 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: We're One Step Closer to Better Sunscreen twitter:description: A bill for better sunscreen is on its way to Congress twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b23079cc68de12/69869becd0b6f27aa23054ca/112299708-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # We're One Step Closer to Better Sunscreen by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 16, 2014 3:18 PM UTC  Suitcase Packed with Beach Wear Suitcase Packed with Beach WearJeffrey Coolidge—Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 16, 2014 3:18 PM UTC The approval process by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be woefully slow, and for over a decade, new sunscreen ingredients—some of which are widely used in other countries—have been trapped in an FDA backlog. But on July 15, those ingredients got one step closer to market when the House Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee approved a bill that would speed up the process. As we [reported in May](http://time.com/137325/new-better-sunscreens-could-be-coming/), sunscreen innovation advocates are hopeful that the a bipartisan bill called the[ Sunscreen Innovation Act](https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4250)—which is currently under review—could pass this summer. There are eight ingredients currently waiting for FDA approval, and the majority have been used in European and Asian countries for years. Some of the ingredients appear to offer better protection from UVA rays than those currently used in U.S. products. The House Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee approved the bill, which means it’s one step closer to getting passed by the House, something advocates think could happen before Congress’ recess in August. After that the bill heads to Senate. If the bill passes, the FDA is will have to respond to the current pending ingredients within a year, and all new applications will have to be responded to within one and half years. Since skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., having the most up-to-date products is important to keep people safe. For now, [here are some shopping tips](http://time.com/money/2791831/how-to-shop-sunscreen-safety/). Read our full coverage of the bill, [here](http://time.com/137325/new-better-sunscreens-could-be-coming/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/"},"headline":"We're One Step Closer to Better Sunscreen","datePublished":"2014-07-16T15:18:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:10:36.803Z","description":"A bill for better sunscreen is on its way to Congress","url":"https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/","keywords":["Healthcare","FDA","bill","sunscreen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b23079cc68de12/69869becd0b6f27aa23054ca/112299708-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15b23079cc68de12/69869becd0b6f27aa23054ca/112299708-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"112299708","caption":"112299708","creditText":"Jeffrey Coolidge—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/healthcare/","name":"Healthcare"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2992200/were-one-step-closer-to-better-sunscreen/","name":"We're One Step Closer to Better Sunscreen"}}]}] ```