U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined 24 of his Senate colleagues in calling for additional federal resources to test drinking water in schools for lead and other contaminants.
The Senators voiced concerns that many schools do not have the resources to test whether drinking water is contaminated with lead or other toxins from service lines or plumbing systems.
“Lead contamination in Flint, Michigan and communities across the country has highlighted the issue of lead and other contaminants in drinking water and the urgent need to prevent lead poisoning and exposure to other environmental toxins,” wrote the Senators in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. “While we recognize the need to make difficult choices in the current fiscal environment, we strongly believe that investing in lead prevention and mitigation now will reduce future costs associated with the need for additional health care and remedial educational services.”
Also joining the letter are U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV).
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