Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) are looking to tackle a class of chemicals called PFAS that are known to linger in the environment and have been linked to health issues including cancer, weakened immune systems and high cholesterol.
Some Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to exempt various industries from liability for the substances, and negotiations on this issue are ongoing.
Nevertheless, the duo says that Congress needs to do something to address the chemicals, which have been found to be pervasive in U.S. waterways and in the blood of 97 percent of Americans.
“This fall, Congress has an opportunity to address an issue that impacts the health and safety of many of our constituents,” Capito wrote in a September op-ed. “We shouldn’t hesitate to deliver solutions that clean up and reduce risks posed by PFAS in a scientific, bipartisan, and responsible manner.”
Earlier this year, Carper and Capito released the draft bill, which looks to set a definition for the sprawling class of chemicals, allowing states to assist individual well owners dealing with contamination, and sets a hard deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize an in-progress rule that would set drinking water standards for a few specific PFAS.
Read more in a full report next week at TheHill.com.
