Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman very much, and as I leave the floor, just want to take note of the contamination in the State of…”

“I thank the gentleman very much, and as I leave the floor, just want to take note of the contamination in the State of Texas and this is what we are fighting. Mr. Chair, as a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I rise in strong support of H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act of 2019, which will regulate in a comprehensive fashion Per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (referred to as PFAS). I support the legislation because it also protects public health by containing provisions to clean up contaminated sites. I have long held concerns regarding environmental justice issues that impact urban and rural communities who disproportionately face problems associated with contaminated water, soil, and air pollution. My work to protect residents of the 18th Congressional District from harms caused by contaminants over the last year include: creosote ground water contamination and the opposition of permitting of a cement manufacturing facility near residential spaces in Fifth Ward Houston and Acres Homes respectively. Through a series of major community meetings on environmental hazards I held last year I can attest that people are literally fighting for their lives and the lives of their children because of disparate conditions regarding managing containment and cleanup of an existing ground water creosote contamination site and the threat of cement dust contamination of a residential area if a State issued permit be allowed to stand.…”