Volume 165, No. 154 covering the 1st Session of the 116th Congress (2019 - 2020) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PFAS CONTAMINATION” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H7870 on Sept. 24, 2019.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PFAS CONTAMINATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster) for 5 minutes.
Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, across the United States and in my district, we are seeing more and more communities threatened with PFAS contamination.
The proliferation of toxic PFAS chemicals throughout our environment is a risk to human health, and as Congress continues to act on this issue, we must listen to the families and citizens who have had to live with this contamination.
I cannot imagine the fear of a parent who has learned that their children's drinking water is contaminated with these harmful chemicals.
That is why earlier this year, I introduced legislation that would prohibit companies from adjusting PFAS chemicals at the molecular level to bypass environmental protection at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Turning off the tap for approving new PFAS chemicals is one step that Congress can take as we work to fully understand how expansive PFAS contamination is to our environment and to human health.
Congress must act on this issue, which is why last month, I convened a PFAS summit with my friend and colleague Chris Pappas to hear from environmental advocates, impacted families, and community leaders in New Hampshire who are on the front lines of cleaning up PFAS contamination.
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We also heard from experts who are working on long-term solutions to cleaning up these ``forever chemicals,'' and I am pleased to bring some of these ideas back to Washington as a member of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force. This group has brought together Democrats and Republicans from across the country to put the issue of PFAS contamination front and center in Washington, D.C.
The PFAS Task Force has already been effective in advancing important provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act to help clean up contaminated sites and protect servicemembers, their families, and first responders who have been exposed.
As House and Senate leaders begin conferencing on this bill, it is critical that the final National Defense Authorization Act includes PFAS provisions from the House- and Senate-passed bills. Americans have waited long enough.
Congress has an important opportunity to pass bipartisan legislation that will protect veterans, current servicemembers, firefighters occupationally exposed to PFAS, and families in communities impacted by military PFAS contamination.
This issue is critical to my district and my State, and I will continue to work across the aisle with anyone who is willing to protect communities and future generations from PFAS contamination.
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