Boyle Legislation to Set National PFAS Standard Passes Energy & Commerce Committee

Press Release

Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) today announced that his legislation (Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2019, H.R. 2377) was successfully voted on and passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

"I am pleased to see this legislation passing out of the Energy & Commerce Committee. Too many families in Philadelphia and across America are at risk of drinking and consuming unsafe water. Public health is at stake while the EPA continues to drag its feet in setting enforceable limits on these chemicals. Congress must take the lead on setting an enforceable national standard on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in our drinking water. I want to thank Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone for including my bill in today's markup to better regulate PFAS substances. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and address these contaminants with the full force of the Safe Drinking Water Act."

Congressman Boyle's legislation would establish a national primary drinking water standard for PFAS. This was the product of discussions with federal officials in direct response to the water contamination issues experienced by communities surrounding the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, and Horsham Air Guard Station in Pennsylvania. He has introduced similar bipartisan legislation since the 114th Congress.

Congressman Boyle is a founding member of the Congressional PFAS Task Force. He has secured over $160 million in government funding for cleaning up, studying, and preventing future PFAS contamination. Moreover, he led a bipartisan letter calling for the release of the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) study indicating these chemicals are more dangerous the human health than previously understood. The study was initially withheld by the Trump Administration for fear of negative publicity.

The legislation now will proceed to the House floor to be voted on and passed to the Senate for consideration.

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