Duckworth Praises Biden EPA Crackdown on Harmful PFAS “Forever Chemicals”

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), founder and co-chair of the U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus and Chair of the Environment & Public Works Subcommittee on Water, today issued the following statement in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new comprehensive Strategic Roadmap to confront per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination nationwide.

“After the recent use of PFAS in an attempt to put out the Sugar Camp Mine fire in Illinois this month, I’m especially encouraged that the Biden Administration has announced this plan that would help clean up communities—including military bases—that have been impacted by PFAS while also regulating these dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ to prevent them from entering our water, air or land in the first place. I have long fought for regulatory action and funding for cleanup efforts under both EPA and DOD, and I’ll keep working with Administrator Regan and the entire Biden Administration to safeguard our environment and protect children and families from toxic pollutants like PFAS.”

Duckworth secured $4 billion to address PFAS in drinking water through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that passed the Senate in August. Duckworth also secured a provision in the committee-passed 2022 Defense bill to continue the effort to remove PFAS from servicemembers’ and military families’ drinking water by extending authority to transfer funds to studies of the health implications of PFAS and authorizing $15 million for the CDC to assess human health related to PFAS.

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