We can domore to contain lead poisoning
I was glad to read an op- ed last week by James Montgomery of DePaul University that drew attention to important issues regarding our aging infrastructure, including the threat of lead contamination that Chicago and many cities across the country face.
Just over a week ago, I introduced legislation, the Copper and Lead Evaluation, Assessment and Reporting Act of 2016 ( CLEAR Act), to better protect Americans from being poisoned by our drinking water. The bill would direct the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) to develop new ways to improve the reporting, testing and monitoring of lead and copper levels in America’s drinking water.
The 2013 study that Mr. Montgomery cites in his article showed that the EPA’s regulation controlling the amount of lead and copper in water misses the high lead levels. Before introducing the bill, I joined with Rep. Tammy Duckworth in asking the agency to review the effectiveness of this regulation.
Over the last few weeks, Democrats in the Senate have been putting together a package of legislation to address lead and clean water issues across the country, not just in Flint, Michigan. I am working to see that the CLEAR Act is included along with legislation I introduced with Rep. Mike Quigley to protect children in affordable housing from lead poisoning by enhancing preventive screening and updating federal housing standards.
This legislative package faces an uphill battle as Republicans in the Senate have refused to provide aid to Flint. I remain hopeful that they will eventually see the wisdom in not only addressing this current public health disaster but also preventing something like that from ever happening again.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., assistant Senate
Democratic leader