President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda isn’t just about creating jobs and fighting climate change. The legislative package now being debated on Capitol Hill also contains funding to finally address lead-contaminated drinking water in communities across America, both urban and rural.
Removing and replacing old lead lines that service homes, schools and businesses will dramatically reduce our exposure to lead, which at any level is particularly harmful to the developing brains of children. The costs to replace these lines are too great for most communities to bear, so a federal fix is badly needed.
Rep. Anthony Delgado (D-N.Y.) understands the need for action on lead pipes in his congressional district and state. A 2016 study found that 83 percent of New York schools’ water taps tested positive for lead contamination. That’s why Delgado intends to vote for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains a down payment on the national effort to get rid of lead pipes. And it’s why we also need him to support full funding for lead service lines removal in the Build Back Better Act.
The NRDC Action Fund is out with a new ad thanking Delgado for his leadership in this fight and urging his constituents to support President Biden’s job-creating infrastructure agenda, which includes a plan to remove and replace dangerous lead pipes. The $500,000 ad campaign is running throughout the month across Delagdo’s district.
Leadership matters at this crucial moment in Washington. We need our lawmakers to stand with the people they represent, not the corporate lobbyists who are trying to block progress. Help us thank Rep. Delgado for working to protect kids in his district and across the country.
