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WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement after her PFAS amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was not made in order for floor consideration by the House Rules Committee:

“For the life of me I cannot understand why we cannot set a safe drinking water standard for PFAS or require the cleanup of contaminated sites. Haven’t we learned anything in this country that every American has a right to safe drinking water? It’s disappointing that my bipartisan amendment, which cleared the House earlier this year on a strong bipartisan vote, is being ruled out of order to the NDAA because of budgetary points of order. We can find ways to afford billion dollar weapons systems or tax breaks for the wealthy and yet we cannot set a safe drinking water standards for PFAS or clean up contaminated sites for a forever chemical. When the budget rules are such that we, the American people, are put at a disadvantage for merely making polluters clean-up their own mess or making EPA ensure safe drinking water under authorities we already gave them, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the way we’ve set up these rules. We know that PFAS chemicals may not leave your body after you drink them and we know they can cause harm. 

“I thank House leadership for bringing the PFAS Action Act to the House floor earlier this year and for working tirelessly towards getting this done. But the news today is more than disappointing, it is infuriating. What’s more infuriating, however, is that the Trump Administration has utterly failed to protect the American people from these chemicals. It’s unconscionable. I and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will not stop fighting until we get this done. This is one more roadblock to our work and efforts to get meaningful legislation done but we are determined to getting this enacted into law.”

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