Rep. Payne, Jr. Votes for Stronger Air and Water Standards to Protect Public Health

Media Contact: Patrick Wright -- Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. voted for a bill today to create stronger environmental regulations to protect air and drinking water from contamination. The bill, the PFAS Action Act of 2021, would reduce the amount of PFAS in the environment and remove them from American drinking water and sites contaminated with these chemicals. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to several human health problems, such as cancer, thyroid disease, and infertility.

"There are few things more important than clean water and air," said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. "I will always support bills that remove contaminants from both. There was a time when we thought we needed PFAS to protect us from harm. But the science has proven that high levels of them are dangerous and unnecessary. When we remove them and other chemicals from the environment, we improve human health and create a better place to live for all of us."

PFAS, or per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances, were developed in the 1940s and used as a fire retardant for military and commercial products, such as cookware. But their use has been reduced and eliminated in those products due to the health issues. The new bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the flow of PFAS into the environment, limit human exposure to PFAS in drinking water, require comprehensive testing for PFAS, and inform communities when residents might be at risk of exposure to PFAS.

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