U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) successfully added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 to boost funding for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) health impact study.
The amendment was added late last month. The study is one she helped establish in the FY 2018 NDAA.
Shaheen’s amendment authorizes $15 million to continue the study, which is an additional $5 million above what was in the underlying bill that cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee in June.
The FY 2021 NDAA passed the Senate on July 23 and is now in the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
Shaheen spoke in support of the amendment on July 21 on the Senate floor. Among her comments were:
- “This PFAS health impact study is the first of its kind to help deliver long overdue answers to affected communities….Ensuring this study is completed as swiftly as possible, especially in light of delays due to the COVID-19 crisis, will continue to be my top concern.”
- “PFAS contamination has affected families across the country, which is why I’ll keep working across the aisle to pursue policies that uncover the health effects, stop exposure, clean up contaminated sites and hold polluters accountable.”
Shaheen is among a group of senators and representatives who have led efforts in Congress to uncover the potential health effects related to PFAS contamination, respond to the chemical exposure, and remediate polluted sites. In this year’s NDAA, Shaheen also included a requirement in the bill for the U.S. Department of Defense to explore PFAS destruction technology.