Durbin: Government needs to be a part of the solution to America's lead crisis

Apr 21, 2016 1:52 PM Save

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[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined 10 of his colleagues at a press conference in Washington, DC to unveil a comprehensive plan that recommits the federal government to a critical role in water infrastructure investment, lead remediation and the strong drinking water protections provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. Today’s True LEADership Act of 2016includes two bills that Durbin introduced earlier this year:

The Copper and Lead Evaluation, Assessment and Reporting Act of 2016(CLEAR Act) which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to develop new ways to improve the reporting, testing and monitoring of lead and copper levels in America’s drinking water.

The Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2016would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to adopt prevention measures and update its lead regulations to protect children from the risk of lead exposure.

“I hear from Republicans over and over that government is the problem. It turns out they were right. It was government that made the decision to save money at the expense of the health of the families in Flint, Michigan,” said Durbin. “I’ve got news for them now, government has to be the solution. We need to step up as a nation and invest in a clean, trustworthy water supply so that every family in America goes to sleep at night knowing that the water they drink isn’t making their lives worse, it’s making it better.”