Washington, D.C. -- Today, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called for action on Senator Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) legislation to protect American families from dangerous lead in drinking water supplies.

Senator Boxer said: “Once again, there is breaking news that pregnant women and children in an American community have been told to stop drinking tap water contaminated with lead. This time it’s in Jackson, Mississippi. Lead in drinking water always raises serious health concerns because we know there is no safe level of lead in children. The families in Flint, in Jackson, and in every community threatened by lead in their drinking water deserve action now. The Stabenow legislation pending in the Senate would ensure that resources are available to address toxic lead in drinking water. We should be able to come together and move this legislation forward, but a few Senators are holding it up. Anyone who stands in the way of passage of this critical public health law while our families continue to be exposed to lead in their drinking water will have to answer to the American people.”

The Drinking Water Safety and Infrastructure Act, introduced by Senators Stabenow, Inhofe, Peters, Portman, Brown, Kirk, Reed, Burr, Durbin, and Boxer, provides funding to address lead and other contaminants in public drinking water systems, including loans from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). WIFIA was created in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. The Stabenow legislation also requires rapid notification if there are high levels of lead found in a public drinking water system. In addition, the bill provides resources for monitoring public health and educational outreach in communities with lead contamination.