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WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change, led a legislative markup in his subcommittee today to advance three major bills addressing water infrastructure and PFAS contamination. The bills include the Assistance, Quality, and Affordability (AQUA) Act, which Tonko wrote and sponsors, and the PFAS Action Act, for which Tonko has been a leading supporter since its introduction and eventual House passage in the previous Congressional term.

“Each day, millions of Americans are exposed to dangerous and potentially deadly chemicals in their drinking water as a result of unchecked pollution and crumbling, outdated water systems,” Congressman Tonko said. “Whether that danger comes from lead components in our drinking water, from environmental contamination from PFAS, or from the countless other unmanaged threats to our safety and the reliability of these most critical systems, America’s health and economic costs from continued inaction are grave and growing. Congress must step up with meaningful investments that protect our communities. Thanks to the efforts in our subcommittee today, Congress is now advancing legislation that will get the job done to fix our broken local water systems, clean up dangerous sources of contamination and elevate the safety and resilience of our communities.”

Legislation advanced out of the subcommittee includes:

• H.R. 3291, the "Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2021"
• H.R. 3293, the "Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021"
• H.R. 2467, the "PFAS Action Act of 2021"

Tonko added after the markup, “My thanks to each of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have helped build this strong, comprehensive legislation that puts our water systems onto long-term sustainable footing. With each new step forward, I grow more confident that we will succeed at getting these critical life-affirming measures signed into law.”

Rep. Tonko’s AQUA Act, introduced last month, provides needed federal investments to local communities to address critical water infrastructure needs, delivers a lifeline to beleaguered water utilities in return for a commitment to temporarily halt all water shutoffs for struggling customers, and replaces every one of the millions of lead service lines still in use—400,000 of which remain in schools and childcare facilities.

Last year, Rep. Tonko shepherded a package of bills that address the growing threat of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—often referred to as “forever chemicals”—and reduce human and environmental exposure to these dangerous substances, improve protections for first responders, and provide grants to clean up contaminated water systems.

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