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Congressman Kildee and Senator Duckworth Re-Introduce Bill to Help Protect Families from Lead-Contaminated Water

July 10, 2019

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (­­D-IL) today re-introduced the National Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence (NO LEAD) Act to help ensure drinking water across our nation is safe from lead and copper contamination.

The NO LEAD Act would update the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), lowering the lead action level from 15 parts per billion (ppb) currently, to 10 ppb by 2020 and 5 ppb by 2026. The bill would also create a lead-service-line inventory to help monitor contaminated service lines and ensure the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops a universal testing protocol to make sure the entire lead service line is replaced if water contamination is detected. Partial replacement does not eliminate the risk of contamination.

"The Lead and Copper Rule is outdated, putting children and families across the country at risk," said Congressman Kildee. "My hometown of Flint knows all too well the consequences of failing to protect our families from lead in our water and we must prevent a similar man-made crisis from happening elsewhere. I am proud to introduce the NO LEAD Act with Senator Duckworth and update the Lead and Copper Rule to better protect public health and restore public confidence in their water systems."


"When families send their children to school or turn on their faucet at home, they should not have to worry about their drinking water being contaminated with a dangerous neurotoxin like lead," said Senator Duckworth. "The threat of contaminated water is a national public health crisis in cities across the nation—including in Chicago, University Park, Carbondale, Galesburg and East St. Louis, Illinois—and we have to do more to stop it. I will keep working to ensure every family in America – no matter where they live – has access to clean and safe drinking water, and I'm proud to introduce this bill with Congressman Kildee to better protect our children from lead-contaminated water."

The NO LEADAct would also help guide the EPA review of the LCR to make lead testing reports more comprehensive and ensure reports are easily available to the public, serving to make clean drinking water more accessible and strengthen education on lead contamination.

Kildee and Duckworth have introduced several pieces of legislation together to remove lead from America's drinking water supplies, including the Get the Lead out of Military Housing Act, which would protect military families from the threat of lead poisoning in their homes and schools by improving testing and inspection for led, which they introduced in April of this year.