FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Contact: Robyn Bryan, 202-256-6655, Robyn.Bryan@mail.house.gov
Kildee Amendment Increasing Funds for PFAS Clean-up on Active Military Bases Included in House Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON—An amendment by Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been included in the Defense appropriations bill being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives, slated for final passage Wednesday afternoon.
Kildee’s amendment increases the Army, Air Force, and Navy Environmental Restoration funds by a total of $15 million to clean up PFAS chemical contamination in and around active military bases across the country.
“PFAS chemicals are a growing problem nationwide and we must do everything we can to clean up toxic contamination,” Congressman Kildee said. “I am proud that the House adopted my amendment to ensure that the Defense Department has more resources to quickly clean up PFAS chemicals on military bases. I will continue to look for additional ways to clean up PFAS chemical contamination and to help address this growing public health crisis.”
Today’s appropriations bill, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, only addresses funding for active military installations. Later this month, the House will likely consider another appropriations bill, the Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, that includes funding for former military bases like the former Wurtsmith Air Force base in Oscoda.
Congressman Kildee is the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force, which works to more urgently address the public health threat of PFAS to better protect communities from the harmful effects of these dangerous chemicals. Kildee has introduced legislation to set a national drinking water standard for PFAS, speed up clean-up efforts and detect PFAS contamination at other sites across the country. Additionally, working with Michigan’s U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, Congressman Kildee included language authorizing a health study on PFAS exposure in the National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in December 2017.