June 07, 2017

After Meeting With EPA Assistant Administrator Nominee, Duckworth Reiterates Need for Strong Environmental Protections

 

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Susan Bodine, the nominee to be Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A photo of their meeting is available here.

"I appreciated meeting with Ms. Bodine this afternoon and know that, at a time when both the President and the EPA Administrator seem intent on dismantling environmental protections, roles like the one she has been nominated for are as important as ever," said Senator Duckworth. "I will continue doing everything I can to protect our children from being poisoned by lead in their water, restore the Great Lakes, stop invasive species like Asian carp and prevent critically-important EPA Regional offices from being shuttered."

Since being sworn into the Senate, Duckworth has been a strong advocate for the preservation and expansion of commonsense initiatives to protect the environment. Duckworth recently joined a number of her colleagues in writing to President Trump to strongly encourage him not to embarrass the United States by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. Earlier this month, Duckworth penned a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt calling on him to protect agency's regional or program offices including Chicago's Region 5 office from being closed or consolidated. Duckworth also signed a bipartisan letter to Pruitt urging him to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in light of the Trump Administration's proposed budget cuts to the Initiative, which has been key to stopping the invasion of harmful species such as Asian carp. These fish pose a serious threat to the food supply and habitat of native fish in bodies of water throughout the Midwest, including the Great Lakes.

Duckworth has also been outspoken about the need to address failures in our public water systems and has introduced several pieces of legislation on lead in America's drinking water. Last year, Duckworth introduced two pieces of legislation to address the nationwide contaminated drinking water crisis, including the Copper and Lead Evaluation, Assessment and Reporting (CLEAR) Act of 2016 and the Get the Lead Out Act. The bills would improve water testing to keep potential contaminants like lead and copper out of public water supplies and provide resources to help communities remove contaminants that may already be present.