August 08, 2019

Duckworth Meets with Community Leaders in Chicago, Highlights Need for Safe, Clean Drinking Water

 

[CHICAGO, IL] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with local elected officials and community leaders at Rainbow Beach Park in Chicago to discuss how our nation can address the continuing crisis of lead in water, as well as her efforts to provide Illinois communities with access to quality and affordable water. Duckworth recently re-introduced her NO LEAD Actto help ensure drinking water across the country is safe from lead and copper contamination by updating the Lead and Copper Rule, creating a lead-service-line inventory to help monitor contaminated service lines and ensuring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops a universal testing protocol for lead service lines. Alderman Greg Mitchell and Susan Sadlowski Garza attended the meeting, and photos are available here.

“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.” Duckworth said. “That’s why I was glad to meet with community leaders in Chicago today to discuss how we can do more to confront this national public health crisis here in our state.  I will continue to work to ensure every family in America – no matter where they live – has access to clean and safe drinking water.”

Duckworth has been a strong advocate of strengthening protections against lead poisoning and other toxins. She re-introduced her Get the Lead out of Assisted Housing Act earlier this year to protect families living in assisted housing from lead found in drinking water. She also was a harsh critic of former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s failure to combat lead poisoning while he was in office, grilling him at committee hearings over his refusal to protect American children and families from contaminated water.

Earlier this year, Duckworth joined forces with U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tom Carper (D-DE) to create the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus to raise awareness of the many environmental and pollution issues that have created public health challenges, which disproportionately impact low income communities and communities of color, including lead poisoning. Duckworth has also been critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back public health protections and vocal about the need to strengthen initiatives to prevent lead contamination.  

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