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WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, cheered the advance of legislation tonight to repair and upgrade America’s drinking water systems and address dangerous PFAS contamination facing communities throughout the country. The bills now advance to the House floor for votes either as stand-alone legislation or to be included in one of the national infrastructure bills currently in development.

“Millions of American households are being exposed every single day to dangerous and potentially deadly contaminants in their drinking water, both as a result of unchecked pollution and because our nation is burdened with thousands of crumbling, outdated water systems,” Congressman Tonko said. “With the advance of these bold measures, Congress is showing that we are ready to get the job done to fix our broken local water systems, clean up dangerous PFAS contamination and restore the health, safety and resilience of our families and communities.”

The three bills addressed during today’s full committee markup include Rep. Tonko’s AQUA Act, which would deliver over $50 billion to repair and upgrade U.S. drinking water systems and $45 billion to remove 10 million lead components in drinking water systems nationwide, as well as the PFAS Action Act of 2021, a significant package of PFAS protections and other policy improvements for which Tonko has been the chief architect and driving force.

Legislation advanced by the Energy & Commerce Committee tonight:

• 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"

Watch Rep. Tonko’s opening statement during the markup HERE.

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