Congressman Dan Kildee Testimony Before Congressional Hearing on PFAS Chemical Contamination

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform's Subcommittee on the Environment regarding the threat of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A full transcript of his remarks as delivered are below:

"Thank you, Chairman Rouda and Ranking Member Comer, for inviting me to speak here today and for your leadership on this issue addressing PFAS chemicals, which is a public health crisis impacting literally hundreds of communities this country.

"PFAS are a family of man-made chemicals that have been used for decades on military bases and in consumer products. These chemicals are very effective at being fire-, grease- and water-resistant and have been used in a wide range of products, including firefighting foam as was stated, Teflon, food packaging and clothing.

"And although they are effective, studies have shown PFAS chemicals pose significant health issues in people, including cancer, thyroid disease and pregnancy complications.

"There are two primary sources of PFAS chemicals: the first includes industrial sites where consumer products are made. The second, which I will focus my testimony on today, is the use of PFAS in firefighting foam at military installations across the country.

"I represent Oscoda, Michigan, a small, rural community that is home to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. At one time, Wurtsmith was home to part of the Strategic Air Command B-52 fleet. In fact, I remember as a kid traveling to that part of what is now my district to see those planes come and go. Now, unfortunately, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Wurtsmith is one of 401 military sites identified as having known or potential releases of PFAS after decades of use of firefighting foam by the military.

"Veterans who worked at Wurtsmith were certainly exposed to PFAS. But nearby Oscoda residents were also affected, since PFAS chemicals used on the base have leeched into the nearby groundwater and private drinking water wells.

"Despite the Defense Department knowing about this PFAS chemical contamination at Wurtsmith since 2012, the military has failed to act quickly enough to stop contamination coming from the former Air Force base. As a result, PFAS continues to leech into the ground and surface water in Oscoda even today.

"Oscoda is just one of many communities across the country dealing with this public health crisis. Across America, residents, veterans and families are increasingly fearful of exposure to PFAS chemicals. Each week, and I'm sure Congressman Fitzpatrick shares this with me, Members of Congress from across the country tell me about their constituents who want greater action to protect public health from these chemicals.

"It's my view that the Defense Department, in particular, has so far failed to act with the required urgency to address this growing public health and environmental crisis. Congress and the Defense Department must work together to do more to address PFAS chemical contamination, especially in those communities that surround current and former military bases.

"Last year, Congress did appropriate $150 million to clean up PFAS. Unfortunately, this represents only a fraction of the resources that will be needed to clean up hundreds of PFAS-contaminated sites, and yet the Defense Department has not requested additional funds. According to the GAO, of the 401 sites the military identified as having PFAS chemicals, the Defense Department has only acted at 32 of those to clean-up contamination—less than 10 percent of all identified sites. Clearly, more needs to be done.

"Thus, I believe we must take the following steps to begin properly addressing PFAS chemical contamination around the country:

"First, we need to stop putting new PFAS chemicals into our environment.

"On military bases and airports across the country, firefighting foam containing PFAS is regularly used for training exercises. One way we can significantly decrease PFAS being introduced in the environment is to limit the amount of new releases of chemicals, especially for training exercises, until we find an effective alternative to firefighting foam containing PFAS.

"Next, we need to more fully understand the scope of the problem.

"I have introduced bipartisan legislation with Congressman Jack Bergman, along with Senator Debbie Stabenow, to conduct a study to determine the scope of PFAS chemical contamination across the country. Unless we know the true scope of contamination, we are in not a position to appropriately respond and expedite clean-up.

"And, of course, we have to focus on clean-up.

"This month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a first step by releasing its long-awaited PFAS Action Plan, which says EPA will eventually regulate PFOA and PFOS—two types of PFAS – as hazardous substances. By recognizing these chemicals as hazardous substances, the EPA can require polluters to clean up the contamination that they caused. While this plan is a start, I have to admit I was disappointed to see the plan not specify a timeline to begin taking meaningful action on clean-up or establishing a national health standard for PFAS in drinking water. Working with my colleague Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, I have been pushing the EPA to commit to a specific timeline for regulating these dangerous chemicals.

"Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need to take care of those veterans and families who have already been exposed to PFAS chemicals, helping them get the health care and resources they certainly deserve. Last Congress, I introduced the VET PFAS Act, which would provide health care and disability benefits to any service member with health conditions caused by PFAS chemicals, as already identified by past health studies. I plan on re-introducing this important bill soon.

"I am also pleased that in 2017, Congress passed legislation that I supported to conduct a new, first-of-its-kind health study on PFAS chemicals, which will give the public a much greater understanding of the health risks associated with PFAS exposure. This ongoing study will help make the case that we need to do more to ensure that all people exposed to PFAS chemicals get the health care and resources they need.

"In this Congress, I worked with Congressman Fitzpatrick to establish this bipartisan PFAS Task Force, where Republicans and Democrats, yes Republicans and Democrats, working together on aggressive, urgent action on PFAS. This Task Force has more than 30 members, on both sides of the aisle from all over the country.

"The dangers and prevalence of PFAS chemicals cannot be understated. While some argue that the science has not evolved enough on this issue, or that the problem is too costly to clean up, I simply do not accept those arguments. Inaction will not make this public health crisis go away. Instead, it will only continue to compound the scale and the cost of the clean-up in the future.

"In closing, the Administration and Congress must work together to fully address PFAS contamination and ensure that Americans exposed to these chemicals, including our veterans and families, and people who live near these sites, have the resources they need. Our constituents deserve nothing less.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back."