A Joint Resolution was introduced in the House yesterday that would repeal a key Biden administration water safety rule requiring the replacement of all toxic lead water pipes in most communities across the country within a decade. The same resolution was introduced last month, but needed to be reintroduced for procedural reasons. Its reintroduction signals House Republicans’ clear intention to advance the plan to repeal this strong public health standard, with support from the White House.

Food & Water Watch has led and will continue to organize rallies at the offices of key Republican Congress members in the Northeast, calling on each of them to publicly denounce their party’s lead safety rollback plan. Thus far, actions have been held at the offices of Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (PA-7) and Rep. Tom Kean (NJ-7).

“Given all we know about the grave health impacts associated with lead exposure, especially for children, it’s truly unconscionable that Republicans would seek to revoke the common-sense actions taken by the Biden administration to finally tackle the pervasive threat of lead in water throughout the country,” said Mary Grant, water program director at Food & Water Watch. “Anyone who votes to repeal these critical lead contamination rules will have that vote hanging over them for years to come.”

In addition to replacing lead pipes, the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) also require more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold for requiring communities to take action against lead exposure in water – from 15 ppb to 10 ppb. Under heavy pressure from the corporate water industry, Republicans are seeking to use the Congressional Review Act to throw out the LCRI.

Meanwhile, a number of states led by New York are advancing a legal petition to defend the LCRI against a lawsuit from the corporate water industry challenging the rules.

Lead service lines are the main source of lead in drinking water, and the EPA estimates that 9 million homes are still served through these lead lines. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water; it is especially dangerous for children. Exposure can lead to developmental disorders, damage to the nervous system and blood cells, and more. In 2021, out of one million children in the U.S. tested, half showed detectable levels of lead in their blood. Lead exposure is much more likely for poorer children and children of color, reinforcing historical inequities.