TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY • April 24, 2022
Lead in drinking water is an urgent national problem, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to some members of Congress. This neurotoxin known to cause devastating cognitive and behavioral problems is especially harmful for infants and children. Today, there are an estimated 10 million lead pipes carrying — and potentially contaminating — U.S. drinking water. Replacing those pipes is essential to safeguarding public health and ensuring safe drinking water for all. But 230 Republicans in the House and Senate voted against spending $15 billion to replace lead service lines. Of the 15 states with the highest number of lead service lines, seven voted for Trump in 2020. If we saw this as a national problem, not a red- or a blue-state one, we just might be able to come together and solve it. ~ Maureen Cunningham, Environmental Policy Innovation Center