[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H153-H164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PFAS ACTION ACT OF 2019

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Garcia of Texas). Pursuant to House 
Resolution 779 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the 
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for the further 
consideration of the bill, H.R. 535.
  Will the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar) kindly take the chair.

                              {time}  0919


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of 
the bill (H.R. 535) to require the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to designate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as 
hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, with Mr. Cuellar (Acting 
Chair) in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole rose on Wednesday, 
January 9, 2020, amendment No. 18 printed in part B of House Report 
116-366 offered by the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Axne) had been 
disposed of.


                 Amendment No. 19 Offered by Ms. Tlaib

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 19 
printed in part B of House Report 116-366.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 36, line 18, after ``a disadvantaged community'' 
     insert ``or a disproportionately exposed community''.
       Page 37, after line 13, insert the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Disproportionately exposed community.--The term 
     `disproportionately exposed

[[Page H154]]

     community' means a community in which climate change, 
     pollution, or environmental destruction have exacerbated 
     systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and 
     economic injustices by disproportionately affecting 
     indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant 
     communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 
     communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the 
     elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, or youth.''.
       Page 37, line 14, strike ``(3)'' and insert ``(4)''.
       Page 37, line 18, strike ``(4)'' and insert ``(5)''.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 779, the gentlewoman 
from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to fight alongside 
Representatives Dingell and Kildee in protecting our water and 
environment. I also appreciate Chairman Pallone for working with us on 
this critical issue to Michigan and the Nation.
  The amendment ensures frontline communities like mine who have been 
directly harmed by the lack of urgency to address the public health 
impacts due to environmental injustices have a true seat at the table 
when it comes to addressing this crisis.
  I grew up in southwest Detroit which houses the most polluted ZIP 
Code in the State; where the smell isn't normal; where our kids go to 
schools that don't have clean drinking water, where our parks are 
closed down, literally, barred away from residents having access to it 
because the soil is too contaminated; and where so many of our 
residents live in fear that the polluting industry nearby is killing 
them.
  Two communities I represent within Wayne County, Michigan, found PFAS 
contamination. In the recent Metro Times publication, there was a 
powerful, yet tragic, statement on what residents in 48217 are forced 
to live with. ``Gone are the fruit trees and vegetable gardens. 
Residents no longer grow produce because the air and the ground are too 
contaminated with hazardous substances.''
  The amendment before us clearly defines disadvantaged, exposed 
communities and ensures that priority for infrastructure funding to 
combat PFAS go to these frontline communities like our own 48217 and 
other neighborhoods.
  If we are not intentional about where we put our resources to address 
this crisis, then we are not serious about universal clean air and 
water. This amendment will ensure that we have equitable funding that 
goes to neighborhoods that have been ignored for far too long.
  I urge you to support the frontline communities amendment and 
safeguard the health and environmental justice of the neighborhoods 
that have historically been victim of structural racism and 
disinvestment.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Barragan), my good colleague and partner in this fight who is the 
cosponsor of this amendment.
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Too often our communities of color are left behind. Too often, they 
are on the front lines of environmental injustice. That is why I am 
proud to cosponsor this bill with Representatives Tlaib and Ocasio-
Cortez.
  Our amendment makes sure that help gets to the people who need it the 
most. It requires the newly established PFAS community water systems 
grant program to prioritize communities that are disproportionately 
exposed to environmental harms and public health impacts from 
pollution.
  Many of those communities are communities like my very own district. 
Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately 
exposed to PFAS contamination. They often face a variety of 
environmental threats, such as: exhaust from congested highways, water 
runoff or air pollution from toxic chemical facilities, and close 
proximity to landfills.
  When a grant application to address PFAS contamination is under 
consideration, these communities that have exposure first and worst 
should get priority. It shouldn't be an afterthought. That is why this 
is a critical first step to ensuring the Safe Drinking Water Act 
prioritizes environmental justice.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, again, I support this amendment and thank my 
colleagues for working on this.
  Growing up in southwest Detroit, the stories of the smell, but not 
only the fact that we didn't understand why parks and certain chemicals 
and so forth were exposed to us, is so important. That is why this 
amendment is so critically important; not only for 48217, but the 
cities of Melvindale, as well as the Delray neighborhood within 
southwest Detroit, again, have been exposed to PFAS contamination.
  These are two communities, literally, steps away from the Detroit 
riverfront, and that is why it is critically important for us to push 
forward on addressing the PFAS contamination across this Nation.
  I want to thank my colleagues in understanding why it is important 
for the Great Lakes State of Michigan that we need to be able to take 
care of our frontline communities first to really be able to ensure 
that we have access to clean water universally.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, we obviously support the amendment.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, the Safe Drinking Water Act already makes special 
priority for what is termed ``disadvantaged communities'' which is 
based on affordability criteria.
  I wish my colleagues who offered this amendment would have been here 
last night when we passed an amendment to support rich communities who 
have already funded their cleanup and are allowing them then to dip 
back into Federal funds to make the payment.
  So they may have, if they had a chance to be here for that amendment, 
voted against communities that have already been able to afford to 
clean up, but we are going to dip into this money at the expense of 
poor communities. So that is kind of what occurred last night.

  This covers a range of low-income communities that may have trouble 
paying for infrastructure needs and has been widely supported as an 
appropriate function of taxpayer support. This amendment creates a 
broad new category that disproportionately exposes, and which would 
appear to expand coverage beyond economic factors which may actually 
undermine the straightforward support for the poor and the 
disadvantaged already in statute.
  I respect the desire to ensure prioritization to communities that may 
be particularly hard hit with other economic and environmental issues, 
but the workability of the new definition has not been closely examined 
and may complicate the provisions of resources to those communities 
that need it. A better way to do this would be to require a rulemaking 
to sort out the best approach to prioritize funding to disadvantaged 
people.
  In a letter written by the water communities, one paragraph says--and 
I would hope my colleagues would listen to this--because in every 
community we have water companies that are supposed to provide safe 
drinking water to our citizens. So the water companies have written to 
us about this bill. And that is the American Water Works Association, 
the Metropolitan Water Agencies, the National Association of Water 
Companies, the National Water Resources Association, the National Rural 
Water Association, and Water Environment Federation.
  These are the people who are going to provide clean drinking water to 
our constituents, and this is what they say about this bill:
  ``Unfortunately, H.R. 535 would leave municipal water and wastewater 
system customers subject to financial liability for PFAS cleanup under 
CERCLA,'' i.e., the Superfund, ``even in cases where the system 
followed all applicable laws and regulations related to

[[Page H155]]

PFAS disposal. This is in direct contrast to the objective of holding 
polluters responsible.''
  I include their letter in the Record.

                                                  January 8, 2020.
     Re Opposition to H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act.

       Dear Representative:  The undersigned organizations 
     representing the nation's drinking water and wastewater 
     utilities are writing to express our opposition to H.R. 535, 
     the PFAS Action Act of 2019. Unfortunately, the legislation 
     fails to protect water system customers from liability for 
     PFAS cleanup costs.
       We believe that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) 
     should be kept out of our nation's water supplies, and that 
     PFAS polluters should be held responsible. The fundamental 
     mission of water and wastewater utilities is to protect 
     public health and the environment, and in doing so they must 
     also be mindful of affordability and the financial burden 
     borne by their customers and the communities they serve. 
     Utilities are tremendously concerned about what PFAS is doing 
     in their communities and, as they have done with all previous 
     public health and environmental challenges, are committed 
     partners in finding a solution to this problem.
       However, Congress must make a distinction between entities 
     that introduced PFAS into the environment, and water and 
     wastewater systems that are on the front lines of cleaning up 
     the contamination. Utilities are not the producers of PFAS, 
     but the receivers of PFAS and must dispose of water and 
     wastewater treatment byproducts containing traces of the 
     chemicals. A water system that follows all applicable laws in 
     its disposal of water treatment byproducts containing PFAS 
     should not be held liable under the Comprehensive 
     Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
     (CERCLA) for any further environmental cleanup costs related 
     to these chemicals. Doing so would penalize customers twice: 
     once when they make investments to remove PFAS from their 
     waters, and again when they are forced to pay to cleanup PFAS 
     contamination elsewhere.
       Unfortunately, H.R. 535 would leave municipal water and 
     wastewater systems customers subject to financial liability 
     for PFAS cleanup under CERCLA--even in cases where the system 
     followed all applicable laws and regulations related to PFAS 
     disposal. This is in direct contrast to the objective of 
     holding polluters responsible.
       It is particularly disappointing that the manager's 
     amendment proposed for H.R. 535 would offer a CERCLA 
     liability shield to airports that are required to use 
     firefighting foam containing PFAS, but fails to extend that 
     same protection to water and wastewater systems who may be 
     required to remove and dispose of PFAS. As receivers of PFAS, 
     water utilities should be afforded the same liability 
     protections that airports are being awarded in the 
     legislation.
       Again, we share the goal of keeping the nation's waters 
     free of PFAS and holding accountable those entities that are 
     responsible for environmental contamination. But because H.R. 
     535 would leave water system customers unprotected against 
     liability for environmental cleanup of PFAS, we have no 
     choice but to oppose the legislation in its current form.
           Sincerely,
     American Water Works Association.
     Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.
     National Association of Clean Water Agencies.
     National Association of Water Companies.
     National Water Resources Association.
     National Rural Water Association.
     Water Environment Federation.

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chair, it is just amazing that last night, the 
National Journal published an article called: ``PFAS Bill Could Spark 
Tort `Bonanza'.''

                              {time}  0930

  I will read from that: ``An association of U.S. trial lawyers with 
deep lobbying pockets and the ear of influential Democrats is helping 
to push a sweeping chemical-regulation package that could pave the way 
for a prolific legal bumper crop.''
  This is not just a forever chemical debate. This is a forever 
litigation debate, litigation after litigation as Superfund sites get 
established. They are there for decades, as I quoted last night 
numerous times. We have Superfund sites that have been identified that 
are still unremediated 30 to 40 years after they were established.
  This bill attempts to use the Superfund as the silver bullet to 
address this concern. I mentioned last night, but it is a new day: This 
is the first time in the history of the Superfund legislation that, in 
the Clean Water Act, we are legislatively identifying a chemical as 
hazardous not using the scientific process.
  For that and all the other reasons, I ask for a ``no'' vote on this 
amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).
  The amendment was agreed to.


               Amendment No. 20 Offered by Mr. Malinowski

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 20 
printed in part B of House Report 116-366.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 46, line 12, strike ``or cooking utensil'' and insert 
     ``cooking utensil, or stain resistant, water resistant, or 
     grease resistant coating not subject to requirements under 
     section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act''.
       Page 46, beginning on line 14, strike ``or cooking 
     utensil'' and insert ``cooking utensil, or stain resistant, 
     water resistant, or grease resistant not subject to 
     requirements under section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
     Cosmetic Act''.
       Page 46, beginning on line 17, strike ``or cooking 
     utensil'' and insert ``cooking utensil, or stain resistant, 
     water resistant, or grease resistant coating not subject to 
     requirements under section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
     Cosmetic Act''.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 779, the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) and a Member opposed each will control 
5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


       Modification to Amendment No. 20 Offered by Mr. Malinowski

  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the modification.
  The Clerk read as follows:

Modification to Amendment No. 20 Printed in Part B of House Report No. 
                                116-366

                Offered By Mr. Malinowski of New Jersey

       The amendment is modified to read as follows:
     __ Page 46, line 12, insert ``, or a stain resistant, water 
     resistant, or grease resistant coating not subject to 
     requirements under section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
     Cosmetic Act'' before ``to meet''.
     __ Page 46, line 15, insert ``, or stain resistant, water 
     resistant, or grease resistant coating'' before ``does not 
     contain''.
     __ Page 46, line 18, insert ``, or stain resistant, water 
     resistant, or grease resistant coating not subject to 
     requirements under section 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
     Cosmetic Act'' before ``that the Administrator''.

  Mr. MALINOWSKI (during the reading). Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous 
consent to dispense with the reading of the modification.
  The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman 
from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the original request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  The Acting CHAIR. The amendment is modified.
  The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 535, the 
PFAS Action Act, and my amendment to the bill, which gives 
manufacturers an opportunity to be transparent with consumers and make 
clear that their products are indeed free of PFAS.
  PFAS chemicals are found in coatings that line products like nonstick 
pots and pans, waterproof clothing, and grease-resistant and fast-food 
containers, items that we use every day and rarely think about. We are 
now well aware of the devastating harm that these chemicals can cause, 
like growth and learning delays in infants and children, an increased 
risk of birth defects, weakened immune systems, decreased fertility, 
and an increased risk of cancer.
  Each year, billions of pounds of these products are dumped into 
landfills or burned in incinerators, releasing PFAS pollutants into the 
air, water, and soil, contaminating the food we eat and the water we 
drink. In my district in New Jersey, there are over 133 contaminated 
sites, more than 30 of which are schools.
  Right now, consumers have no way of knowing for sure whether products 
like

[[Page H156]]

the water-resistant spray that we put on our shoes and jackets or the 
stain-resistant sprays we put on our furniture, rugs, and carpets are 
or are not contaminated with PFAS coatings that can harm our health.
  My amendment would alleviate this problem. It will add stain-, water-
, and grease-resistant coatings to the list of products eligible for a 
voluntary label indicating the absence of PFAS, which will allow 
consumers to make safer and more informed decisions about the products 
that we purchase.
  We must start holding polluting companies accountable for the 
chemicals that they are putting into the products that we bring to our 
homes and give to our children, but we should also be giving companies 
that do the right thing and that protect consumers a way to be 
recognized and a way to be rewarded for responsible behavior.
  Mr. Chairman, I look forward to voting for this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the 
amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Once again, this is simply about greater 
transparency. It is about giving consumers choice. It is about American 
companies that have done the right thing that are facing competition 
often from abroad, often from companies that have not done the right 
thing, giving them a chance to put a credible label on their products 
that says: This is safe. This is PFAS-free.
  Mr. Chairman, this is a commonsense amendment. I hope that everybody 
accepts it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, we addressed an amendment like this last night from the 
gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree). Very similar, and I will raise 
the same objections.
  I have been here a long time, and I actually remember the Alar scare. 
I also remember BPA, bisphenol A. That is the plastic--it was a kind of 
the same type--that was going to kill everybody, and we ought to ban 
it. We went through the scientific process and found out that it 
wasn't.
  In the meantime, did we need the government to offer labeling a ``-
free'' product? The answer in the example of BPA is no.
  Bisphenol A was used in baby bottles. Company retailers that made 
bottles with other substances had no problems. In fact, it was a great 
marketing attempt for them to say that it was BPA-free.
  They didn't need government to do that. They did it because of the 
advertising and the consumer potential to do that.
  There will be, and there are, companies trying to do the right thing. 
They should take advantage of that opportunity, especially in this 
environment when we are dealing with 7,866 per- and polyfluorinated 
compounds. The debate is that every one of those 7,866 compounds is 
hazardous and destructive to individuals. If you are making a product, 
this is a perfect time to be able to do that and say that it is PFAS-
free.
  Why would we have the government do that? Some could argue that this 
is a corporate perk, that we are incentivizing and rewarding companies 
through government action to do something that if they are good 
stewards, they should be able to do on their own. That is why I have 
some concerns with this.
  Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record another letter from numerous of 
these companies--some you would label bad actors; some you would label 
good actors--as they submitted a letter in opposition to this overall 
bill.

                                                  January 8, 2020.
       To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives: PFAS 
     are a large and diverse group of chemicals with unique 
     properties that have been used in a broad number of 
     beneficial applications for years. Heightened attention to 
     potential health effects of certain PFAS has led to an 
     increased public concern and interest in new regulatory 
     protections in this area.
       We understand these concerns and are committed to working 
     with legislators, regulators, and all stakeholders to 
     establish risk-based standards that protect human health and 
     the environment. We also support the development of a 
     consistent approach and clear timelines for assessing and 
     regulating specific PFAS across all relevant federal agencies 
     to ensure that government regulations, actions, and 
     communications are coordinated for maximum effectiveness.
       Any federal action should not address PFAS as a class or 
     with predetermined outcomes, but rather should be based on 
     sound science and the weight of the scientific evidence. 
     Further, Congress should not circumvent existing regulatory 
     authorities. The Environmental Protection Agency, as well as 
     other relevant agencies, should retain their traditional 
     power to study PFAS and determine whether to regulate certain 
     PFAS. Many provisions included in the National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, signed into law at 
     the end of last year, took important steps towards meeting 
     those goals.
       We look forward to working with you on this important 
     matter as the legislative process continues. We oppose H.R. 
     535, the ``PFAS Action Act of 2019.''
           Sincerely,
       U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Advamed, Airlines for America, 
     American Chemistry Council, American Coatings Association, 
     American Forest & Paper Association, American Fuel & 
     Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute, 
     Associated General Contractors of America, Flexible Packaging 
     Association, Foodservice Packaging Institute.
       International Liquid Terminals Association, National 
     Association of Chemical Distributors, National Association of 
     Manufacturers, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, 
     Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), Single Ply Roofing 
     Industry, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, 
     Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, TRSA--The Linen, 
     Uniform and Facility Services Association.

  Mr. SHIMKUS. They say in this letter: ``Any Federal action should not 
address PFAS as a class or with predetermined outcomes, but rather 
should be based on sound science and the weight of the scientific 
evidence.''
  As I said before, this is the first time in the history of the 
country that we are labeling a chemical formulation as toxic 
politically using political science, not science.
  They go on to say: ``Further, Congress should not circumvent existing 
regulatory authorities. The Environmental Protection Agency, as well as 
other relevant agencies, should retain their traditional power to study 
PFAS and determine whether to regulate certain PFAS. Many provisions 
included in the National Defense Authorization Act''--we talked about 
that a lot last night--``for Fiscal Year 2020, signed into law at the 
end of last year, took important steps toward meeting those goals.'' 
There is a list of 30 or 40 organizations. I am not going to read them 
all this morning.
  I appreciate my colleague's amendment. We actually were close when we 
were thinking about getting a bipartisan bill to bring to the floor. 
This was one of the provisions that was on the table. My friends, I 
believe, couldn't say yes, so here we are, fighting this bill that the 
Senate will not take up, and the President will not sign, and you will 
have to wait for the next Congress to address this issue.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment, as modified, 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski).
  The amendment, as modified, was agreed to.


           Amendment No. 21 Offered by Mr. Levin of Michigan

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 21 
printed in part B of House Report 116-366.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 2, after line 15, insert the following new subsection:
       (c) Review.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report containing a 
     review of actions by the Environmental Protection Agency to 
     clean up contamination of the substances designated pursuant 
     to subsection (a).
       (2) Matters included.-- The report under paragraph (1) 
     shall include an assessment of cleanup progress and 
     effectiveness, including the following:
       (A) The number of sites where the Environmental Protection 
     Agency has acted to remediate contamination of the substances 
     designated pursuant to subsection (a).
       (B) Which types of chemicals relating to such substances 
     were present at each site

[[Page H157]]

     and the extent to which each site was contaminated.
       (C) An analysis of discrepancies in cleanup between Federal 
     and non-Federal contamination sites.
       (D) Any other elements the Administrator may determine 
     necessary.
       (3) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
     means the following:
       (A) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (B) The Committee on the Environment and Public Works of 
     the Senate.
  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 779, the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Levin) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, my amendment requires, within 5 
years, a comprehensive report to Congress by the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the EPA, regarding the actions the Agency will take 
to clean up and remediate PFAS contamination sites once we pass the 
important bill before us into law.
  I would like to begin by thanking my friend Chairman Pallone and his 
staff for working with me on this, as well as my fellow Michiganders, 
Congresswoman Dingell, Congressman Upton, and Congressman Kildee, for 
their bipartisan leadership on this bill.
  I am proud that this bill includes my bill cosponsored with 
Representative Khanna, the PFAS Safe Disposal Act, which prohibits 
unsafe incineration of PFAS. We need to ensure that when PFAS chemicals 
are destroyed by incineration, PFAS particles are not emitted into the 
air. The monumental effort of PFAS cleanup will be for naught if PFAS 
is simply transmitted from water and soil into the air we breathe.
  We in Michigan know all too well the growing threat that PFAS 
chemicals pose to our communities and our water resources. They have 
been linked to cancer, damage to both reproductive and immune systems, 
developmental issues, and changes in liver, immune, and thyroid 
functions.
  The troubling reality is that both industry and the EPA itself have 
known about the risks from PFAS chemicals for decades. We know, for 
example, that industry studies have demonstrated the adverse health 
effects of these chemicals since as early as 1950. That is 70 years 
ago. We also know that even though the EPA has recognized the risks of 
PFAS since at least 1995, the Agency is continuing to allow new PFAS 
chemicals onto the market to this day.
  By passing H.R. 535 into law, we can finally begin to reverse decades 
of the EPA's failure and finally deliver the protections impacted 
communities need in both the short and long term. But after decades of 
the EPA failing to treat this matter with urgency, we need to make sure 
that the cleanup process that will be set in place, once we finally 
designate PFOA and PFAS as hazardous substances, is both timely and 
effective.
  My amendment is a commonsense transparency and accountability measure 
that requires the EPA to submit a comprehensive review to Congress 
after 5 years of cleanup efforts. The report required by my amendment 
will include the number of sites that have to be remediated, the types 
of PFAS chemicals present at each site, an analysis of discrepancies 
and cleanup between Federal and non-Federal contamination sites, and 
more.
  For the sake of our constituents and after so many years of 
inexcusable threats to their health, Congress must ensure that EPA's 
PFAS cleanup efforts are effective.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the Speaker of the 
House.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding and 
congratulate him on his important amendment. I hope this important 
study will be part of that legislation.
  Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to come to the floor to join our 
colleagues, the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee and the former chair, Mr. Upton, in their bipartisan support 
of this legislation.
  I salute Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, a crusader in this urgent 
mission to protect our communities from PFAS chemicals.
  I also thank Mr. Tonko, the chair of the Environment and Climate 
Change Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  The list goes on and on, and I will name some more.
  Last year, our Members worked relentlessly to pass bold legislation 
to tackle the PFAS crisis. We salute the Members whose bills were 
included in the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act agreement 
reached by the House.

                              {time}  0945

  Unfortunately, at the end of the year, the Senate GOP refused to join 
the House to secure full, robust protections against PFAS chemicals, 
and key provisions were cut from the NDAA, the National Defense 
Authorization Act. The Senate GOP obstruction is why we are here today.
  We are also here today because our distinguished chairman, Mr. 
Pallone, promised that we would have a chance to vote on robust 
legislation after the first of the year. I thank the chairman.
  PFAS chemicals are a serious public health threat, contaminating the 
water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. These forever 
chemicals--which do not break down easily--are exposing millions of 
Americans to liver disease, asthma, thyroid dysfunction, multiple forms 
of cancer, and further health threats.
  Today, nearly all Americans, including newborn babies, expectant 
mothers, and children, have PFAS in their blood; and up to 110 million 
people may be drinking tainted water, including, as our colleagues from 
Michigan have indicated, the challenge in their State indicated by the 
leadership and demonstrated on the floor in a bipartisan way on this 
issue.
  Our colleague from Hoosick Falls, New York, Mr. Delgado, has been a 
champion on this issue. Their contamination from a plastics factory 
raised the level of PFAS chemicals in residents' blood to 100 times the 
national average, Mr. Shimkus.
  In Chincoteague, Virginia, near Maryland, where I grew up, 
contamination from NASA Wallops Flight Center forced the local 
community to find an entirely new drinking water supply. And we thank 
Congresswoman Luria for her leadership in all of this.
  And Mr. Pappas, also with Annie Kuster, has a situation in 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where contamination from Pease Air Force 
Base poisoned the drinking water of thousands of residents, including 
children and infants.
  Mr. Chair, before we won the majority, we had a hearing. It really 
was about a number of issues, environmental justice being one of them. 
Reverend Barbera brought people from all over the country to talk about 
this. I particularly remember our conversations in the testimony of 
Peggy Price.
  She came and told the story of her family and how they were affected 
by what was happening at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. It was a very 
sad story. Their families suffered, the parents, the children--just a 
horrible situation. They were serving our country at Camp Lejeune, and 
they were victimized by the water supply there.
  Particularly egregious, is the epidemic of contamination on military 
sites, as I mentioned just now, and more than 400 sites across the 
United States are affected. It is unacceptable that our men and women 
who sacrifice to keep us safe around the world face this danger in 
their health at home.
  Sadly, some big corporations and the EPA have known about the risks 
from PFAS chemicals for decades, but they have failed to prevent the 
spread of contamination. The Trump administration's EPA is breaking its 
own promises every day that it delays and puts polluters ahead of the 
American people.
  In stark contrast, the House is taking action. We are cleaning up 
communities by designating PFAS as a hazardous substance by the EPA, 
which is the key barrier to cleaning up military and industrial sites.

[[Page H158]]

  We are also creating new, robustly funded grants, in partnership with 
States, to help with cleanup and remediation efforts. Hopefully, we 
will be adding this important study that Mr. Levin is proposing to this 
legislation.
  And we are helping stem the tide of further contamination with tough, 
new testing reporting and monitoring requirements, strict limits on the 
introduction of new PFAS chemicals, limits on air emissions, and 
banning unsafe incineration--strong measures to hold contaminating 
companies accountable.
  Last month, the Senate GOP fought to prevent many of these lifesaving 
measures from becoming law in the NDAA. Now, Senator McConnell will 
have to explain once again to the American people why he is blocking 
our bipartisan action to clean up contaminated communities.
  I urge a strong vote on this legislation to keep the American people 
healthy and safe and, again, salute all of those who have worked so 
hard to bring this legislation to the floor in a bipartisan way.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I 
have remaining.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Michigan has 45 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to close, and I 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chair, while people may have all kinds of opinions on the 
underlying issue, this amendment is simply about sunshine. It simply is 
about good government: Will our Federal agencies tell our Article I 
body here what they are up to? I think it just makes all kinds of sense 
to ask them to give us a comprehensive report after a reasonable period 
of time, so I hope everyone can support this amendment.
  Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am happy to follow the Speaker, and I do have great respect for 
her. It gets me in trouble in my district every now and then when I 
talk about our relationship, but it has to be said that I can't allow a 
revisionist history to report on what occurred, especially on the Safe 
Drinking Water Act and in the final negotiations.
  It is well-reported that there was a three-corner agreement. One 
corner couldn't get there, and that is why we didn't have it. I won't 
name names. I won't point fingers. But to point this over at our 
friends in the other side of the building where they had come to an 
agreement, that is just not accurate.
  I would also point out that, in this bill, we are exempting airports 
from Superfund liability. We are not exempting medical devices. We are 
not exempting military contractors. We are not exempting water 
companies. We are exempting airports who use, probably the most toxic 
of all these chemicals: firefighter foam. Somehow, they were able to 
get a carve-out where other companies, industries, could not.
  The only other organization that benefited was the Trial Lawyer 
Association. I want to mention that again. It is amazing, the article 
came out last night. I am not sure how that happened, but it states in 
the article:

       An association of U.S. trial lawyers with deep lobbying 
     pockets and an ear of influential Democrats is helping to 
     push a sweeping chemical regulation package that could pave 
     the way for a prolific legal bumper crop.

  Now, where would that happen in this bill? Well, it would happen in 
the Kildee amendment that we passed last night, which would federalize 
information publication that States should handle. We can get that at 
the Federal level, then the trial bar could go through this 
information. The Pappas amendment had unrealistic deadlines, so they 
had this litigation based upon not being able to meet a deadline.
  Then you have section 2 of the Superfund designation without science 
and unrealistic review deadlines.
  Section 4, toxic labeling of unrealistic risks without a review.
  Section 15, Clean Air Act designation without science and unrealistic 
review deadlines.
  And the Brindisi amendment, we passed, that makes it marginally 
better, but, of course, not good enough for us to be able to accept 
that--or at least me--in the vote on the floor.
  So, if this colleague of mine would amend this amendment and say 
let's have transparency on the class action lawsuits, then the 
litigation and the legal costs of doing this--we know that Superfund 
designation is not a silver bullet to cleanup, and I used this numerous 
times last night.
  Old Springfield, Vermont, was added on the Superfund list, September 
8, 1983. Guess where it is 36 years later? Still on the Superfund list.
  Colbert Landfill, Spokane, Washington, added September 8, 1983. Guess 
what it is? Still a Superfund site 36 years later.
  We should do a transparency look at how much litigation and money has 
been spent, both by the government and lawyers, on these Superfund 
sites. And, if we want to talk about transparency, I think that would 
also be a good way. Maybe we could have a bipartisan agreement on 
timelines and remediation, but also follow the money. Where is the 
money going?
  So this amendment does not require informing Congress of private-
sector actions to clean up PFAS under Superfund and is unclear how much 
cleanup is being done by other Federal agencies. Plus, this is 
something that the Government Accountability Office or the 
congressional committees could do without such expense to the Federal 
Government.
  Mr. Chairman, I oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                Amendment No. 22 Offered by Ms. Slotkin

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 22 
printed in part B of House Report 116-366.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 47, after line 15, insert the following:
       (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in consultation with the head of the U.S. 
     Fire Administration and other relevant Federal departments or 
     agencies, shall report to Congress on the efforts of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency and other relevant Federal 
     departments and agencies to identify viable alternatives to 
     firefighting foam and other related equipment containing any 
     PFAS.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 779, the gentlewoman 
from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to 
the PFAS Action Act, which would require the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with other relevant 
government agencies, to report to Congress on efforts to identify 
viable alternatives to PFAS firefighting foam and other related 
equipment containing PFAS.
  PFAS contamination hits particularly close to home for me and my 
constituents. We in Michigan are confronting widespread PFAS 
contamination in our water, chemicals that we know are linked to cancer 
and other diseases.
  This past summer, I toured Strawberry Lake, part of Livingston 
County's beautiful chain of lakes in my district, where foam resulting 
from PFAS buildup is visible in plain sight.
  I held a forum focused on PFAS contamination in Pinckney, Michigan, a 
community that has been under a ``do not eat fish'' advisory for over a 
year and a ``do not touch foam'' advisory for many months. The more 
than 200 attendees expressed deep concern about the impact of PFAS 
contamination on their health, safety, and livelihoods, and had simple 
questions about how to know whether their water is safe to drink, eat 
fish from, or even touch.
  In September, I met with Brighton Fire Chief Michael O'Brien and fire 
chiefs from across Livingston County and discussed their concerns about 
exposure to firefighting foam that contains high concentrations of 
PFAS.
  PFAS presents alarming health risks. According to the CDC, exposure 
to PFAS can affect growth, learning, and behavior in infants and older 
children; lower a woman's chance of getting pregnant; increase the risk 
of cancer; and impact the immune system. In

[[Page H159]]

fact, one of my constituents, who spent his career as an auto mechanic 
and was exposed to PFAS-contaminated materials on a daily basis, is now 
connecting his diagnosis of MS, or an autoimmune disease, to his 
exposure to PFAS at work.
  In Michigan, the high levels of PFAS have been detected in 34 sites, 
including at Diamond Chrome Plating in my district.
  In addition, these chemicals have been found at some level in 
municipal drinking water serving more than 2 million people across the 
State.
  PFAS has been detected in 54 Michigan schools, including 5 schools in 
my district.
  Last summer, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 
issued an emergency ``do not eat'' advisory regarding all fish from 
sections of the Huron River in my district after fish from Kent Lake 
were discovered to contain very high levels of PFAS.
  Let me be clear: I believe that access to clean water out of your tap 
is a right and not a privilege.

                              {time}  1000

  I believe that environmental security is homeland security. If it is 
threatening the safety and security of your family and preservation of 
your way of life, that is homeland security.
  When Michigan families can't be confident that the water they are 
giving their children to drink won't make them sick or give them a 
learning disability; when they can no longer fish the rivers or hunt in 
the areas they have hunted for years with their families, that is a 
threat to our security, to our way of life.
  It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat, or a Republican, or an 
Independent, if you are going to hand your child a glass of water, you 
should be confident it won't cause cancer or other lifelong health 
issues. That is your family, and that is their safety.
  My amendment would simply require the EPA to report to Congress on 
efforts to identify viable alternatives to products and equipment 
containing PFAS, including firefighting foam used on our military 
bases.
  The PFAS Action Act of 2019 does a great deal to meet the threat of 
PFAS contamination with robust legislation that responds to it. And my 
amendment will hold Federal agencies accountable for finding viable 
alternatives to prevent further PFAS contamination.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, 
although I do not believe I will oppose the amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Illinois is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Chair, I have no speakers and I am prepared to close 
after the gentleman closes.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Illinois has the right to close. 
The gentlewoman from Michigan is recognized.
  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Chair, I ask for the bill to be supported, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, the gentlewoman brings up an issue about firefighter 
foam. She talks about military installations. She does not talk about 
commercial aviation and waterway issues which are exempted in this 
bill.
  Again, I am not sure why we are wanting to clean up all PFAS 
contamination, the world is ending, but we exempt airports. We don't 
exempt medical devices.
  Let me hold up this. This was used last night. This is a medical 
device that is inserted into a child, maybe an unborn child, to close a 
hole in the heart. FDA said this is safe to insert into a heart. You 
want to talk about daily exposure? Here is daily exposure in an infant 
child.
  So the nexus between the gentlewoman's amendment and this debate is 
that maybe when we are investigating firefighter foam for alternatives, 
maybe we are going to investigate alternatives for this type.
  FDA has approved this. So why are we going to possibly ban chemicals?
  We also mentioned last night that the Food and Drug Administration 
has claimed PFAS lining for food packages is safe. So we already have 
government entities that have investigated portions of the PFAS world.
  Remember, we are talking about 7,866 different permutations; not one 
chemical, not two chemicals, but 7,866. And this is the first time in 
the history of our Nation that, without science and due diligence, we 
are going to label a chemical as toxic. That is part of the objection.
  Let's use real science. I get beat up all the time, being a science-
denier, climate change.
  Here, my friends on the Democrat side aren't ready to rely on science 
to address each of these 7,866 different applications. In fact, they 
are trying to, in this legislation, cause a rush to judgment, create an 
inability for the EPA to make a decision. So then, the companies can be 
sued because there is no way they can meet the timelines based upon 
this bill.
  I would like to also read from the American Council of Engineering 
Companies letter, a letter that I will ask, at the appropriate time, to 
submit to the Record; and it says this: ``By designating certain PFAS 
chemicals as hazardous substances under CERCLA,'' which is the 
Superfund, ``as called for in H.R. 535, we are concerned that such 
action could upset the progress already made to address this challenge, 
divert resources away from more pressing threats to water quality, and 
impose significant costs and liability on our water utility clients and 
the ratepayers they serve.''
  Mr. Chairman, I include the letter I just referenced in the Record.

                                               American Council of


                                        Engineering Companies,

                                  Washington, DC, January 9, 2020.
     Hon. Frank Pallone,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Greg Walden,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Walden: On behalf 
     of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)--the 
     business association of the nation's engineering industry--we 
     wish to express our concerns over H.R. 535, the PFAS Action 
     Act. While we agree that aggressive steps are needed to 
     protect water resources from per- and polyfluoroalkyl 
     substances (PFAS) contamination, we believe that ongoing 
     efforts at the federal level to develop risk-based 
     regulations offer a more effective approach to address this 
     problem.
       ACEC represents over 5,500 engineering companies and 
     thousands of engineering professionals who work on a daily 
     basis to improve the nation's water infrastructure and 
     protect human health and the environment. While PFAS 
     chemicals have been in wide use for many decades, concerns 
     have emerged in recent years regarding the health effects of 
     certain types of PFAS. In response to this, federal and state 
     regulators, as well as water supply, wastewater and other 
     stakeholders are working together to define the public health 
     risks of the PFAS chemicals as well as consideration of 
     technologies to cost-effectively mitigate those risks.
       The Council supports this deliberative, consistent and 
     data-driven approach to developing risk-based PFAS standards. 
     By designating certain PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances 
     under CERCLA (Superfund), as called for in H.R. 535, we are 
     concerned that such action could upset the progress already 
     made to address this challenge, divert resources away from 
     more pressing threats to water quality, and impose 
     significant costs and liability on our water utility clients 
     and the ratepayers they serve.
       We would respectfully urge the House to reconsider this 
     approach, and instead work to support and where necessary 
     enhance the existing regulatory framework and action plan.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Linda Bauer Darr,
                                                  President & CEO.

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Chairman, I already asked for inclusion in the 
Record a letter from the local municipal water plants, or the rural 
water associations, or the for-profit-owned water companies who said 
this makes it more difficult for us to clean up the water. We are going 
to be held to Superfund liability. We have to pay the court costs.
  Now we have exempted airports. We haven't exempted the water 
companies. That is really just a pass-through. They are receiving, they 
are cleaning up, and then they are disposing, but we are not going to 
exempt them. We are going to exempt airports.
  We are not going to exempt medical device manufacturers who are 
saving

[[Page H160]]

the lives of unborn children who have daily exposure of PFAS; and this 
is a lifesaving application.
  This is just one of many. I could pull up heart stents. Last night we 
also talked about F-16s and our defense industry.
  Maybe, with this amendment, we will do due diligence and find a 
suitable chemical formula that will replace this. So I applaud it. I 
think it is well thought of. It is meaningful.
  I would also like to, in the end, because this will probably be my 
last time to be able to talk on this. We, on both sides of the aisle, 
really need to thank legislative counsel, because of the short 
timeframe they had in the amendment offerings, their response to the 
majority's concerns and writing. And actually, obviously, we are 
probably more difficult because we are trying to really dig in and find 
the fallacies of the coming amendments.
  So my personal thanks to legislative counsel and professional staff 
who worked tirelessly on behalf of both sides.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                    Announcement by the Acting Chair

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, proceedings 
will now resume on those amendments printed in part B of House Report 
116-366 on which further proceedings were postponed, in the following 
order:
  Amendment No. 2 by Mr. Burgess of Texas.
  Amendment No. 6 by Mr. Balderson of Ohio.
  Amendment No. 13 by Mr. Pappas of New Hampshire.
  The Chair will reduce to 2 minutes the minimum time for any 
electronic vote after the first vote in this series.


                 Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Burgess

  The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a 
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Burgess) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the 
noes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 161, 
noes 247, not voting 28, as follows:

                              [Roll No. 9]

                               AYES--161

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Bost
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Cook
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Hollingsworth
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     McAdams
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McKinley
     Meadows
     Miller
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Peterson
     Ratcliffe
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose, John W.
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Spano
     Stauber
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Thornberry
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Wright
     Yoho

                               NOES--247

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallagher
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green (TN)
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Holding
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hudson
     Huffman
     Huizenga
     Hurd (TX)
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     King (NY)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Mast
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCarthy
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     Norton
     O'Halleran
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Plaskett
     Pocan
     Porter
     Posey
     Pressley
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Reed
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rooney (FL)
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Rouzer
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sablan
     San Nicolas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stefanik
     Stevens
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Turner
     Underwood
     Upton
     Van Drew
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Webster (FL)
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth
     Young
     Zeldin

                             NOT VOTING--28

     Aderholt
     Brady
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Carter (TX)
     Crawford
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez-Colon (PR)
     Granger
     Hunter
     Johnson (GA)
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Lewis
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Nadler
     Payne
     Radewagen
     Serrano
     Simpson
     Smucker
     Thompson (PA)
     Walker

                              {time}  1033

  Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. COOPER, Ms. GARCIA of 
Texas, Mr. POSEY, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Messrs. ESPAILLAT 
and VAN DREW changed their vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated for:
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 9.


                Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Balderson

  The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a 
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Balderson) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the 
noes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The Acting CHAIR. This is a 2-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 170, 
noes 239, not voting 27, as follows:

[[Page H161]]

  


                             [Roll No. 10]

                               AYES--170

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Bost
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Cook
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hurd (TX)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     McAdams
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     Meadows
     Miller
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose, John W.
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schrader
     Schweikert
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Spano
     Stauber
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Thornberry
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Wright
     Yoho
     Zeldin

                               NOES--239

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallagher
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Herrera Beutler
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hudson
     Huffman
     Huizenga
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     King (NY)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Mast
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     Norton
     O'Halleran
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Plaskett
     Pocan
     Porter
     Posey
     Pressley
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rooney (FL)
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sablan
     San Nicolas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Turner
     Underwood
     Upton
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--27

     Aderholt
     Brady
     Buchanan
     Carter (TX)
     Crawford
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez-Colon (PR)
     Granger
     Hunter
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Lewis
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     Meuser
     Nadler
     Payne
     Radewagen
     Scott, Austin
     Serrano
     Simpson
     Smucker
     Thompson (PA)
     Van Drew
     Walker

                              {time}  1038

  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated against:
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 10.


                 Amendment No. 13 Offered by Mr. Pappas

  The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a 
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New 
Hampshire (Mr. Pappas) on which further proceedings were postponed and 
on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The Acting CHAIR. This is a 2-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 242, 
noes 168, not voting 26, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 11]

                               AYES--242

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Collins (GA)
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Herrera Beutler
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Hurd (TX)
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     King (NY)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Mast
     Matsui
     McAdams
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McKinley
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     Norton
     O'Halleran
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Plaskett
     Pocan
     Porter
     Posey
     Pressley
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Reed
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rooney (FL)
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Rouzer
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sablan
     San Nicolas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Turner
     Underwood
     Upton
     Van Drew
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NOES--168

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Bost
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole

[[Page H162]]


     Comer
     Conaway
     Cook
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     Meadows
     Miller
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Ratcliffe
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose, John W.
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Spano
     Stauber
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Thornberry
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Wright
     Yoho
     Young
     Zeldin

                             NOT VOTING--26

     Aderholt
     Brady
     Buchanan
     Carter (TX)
     Crawford
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez-Colon (PR)
     Granger
     Hunter
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Lewis
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     Meuser
     Nadler
     Payne
     Radewagen
     Scott, Austin
     Serrano
     Simpson
     Smucker
     Thompson (PA)
     Walker

                              {time}  1044

  Mr. VAN DREW changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained. 
Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 11 and 
``yea'' on rollcall No. 10.
  The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Clay). There being no further amendments, under 
the rule, the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Cuellar) having assumed the chair, Mr. Clay, Acting Chair of the 
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that 
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 535) to 
require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
designate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as hazardous substances 
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980, and, pursuant to House Resolution 779, he 
reported the bill, as amended by that resolution, back to the House 
with sundry further amendments adopted in the Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Is a separate vote demanded on any further amendment reported from 
the Committee of the Whole? If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
  The amendments were agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit 
at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill?
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. I am in its current form.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mrs. Rodgers of Washington moves to recommit the bill H.R. 
     535 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce with instructions 
     to report the same back to the House forthwith, with the 
     following amendment:
       Page 10, line 14, insert ``, including any unborn child (as 
     defined in section 1841(d) of title 18, United States Code)'' 
     before the period at the end.

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask 
unanimous consent that the motion be considered as read.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Washington is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her motion.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, this motion is the last 
opportunity to amend the bill, and it does so without delay in passage.
  We all agree that PFAS chemicals that present health risks to the 
public should be cleaned up as quickly as possible, but it should be 
done according to the best available science.
  The majority often likes to claim that they are the party of science. 
Unfortunately, this bill ignores science and facts for scoring 
political talking points by grouping together an entire class of PFAS 
chemicals. Some of these chemicals are essential to lifesaving medical 
devices; others provide for cutting-edge technologies in aerospace that 
are critical to our national security.
  By ignoring scientific evidence, this bill would kill innovations 
that could help further lift people's standard of living and save 
lives.
  I understand and share frustrations for slow cleanup of the dangerous 
PFAS chemicals. In my own district, Fairchild Air Force Base and Airway 
Heights, Washington, are dealing with PFAS. However, we just passed 
bipartisan legislation based on science through the NDAA that will 
ensure that affected communities are cleaned up quickly. This bill 
would ignore those efforts.
  It is unprecedented that Congress would unilaterally classify 
chemicals under CERCLA. By doing so, Congress will designate 
communities like Airway Heights a Superfund site, significantly harming 
their ability to attract new investments and hurting property values.
  Instead of trying to score political points, we should be proud of 
the bipartisan achievement of the NDAA and continue to work to clean up 
our communities and get results.
  This amendment is a good faith effort to improve this legislation in 
a way that enhances its efforts to protect all Americans from harmful 
chemicals.
  Section 5 of H.R. 535 seeks to guarantee protection of vulnerable 
populations from potential PFAS dangers in their drinking waters. It 
states that the new rules ``shall be protective of the health of 
subpopulations at greater risk.''
  The Safe Drinking Water Act already identifies pregnant women as an 
at-risk group. However, there is not just one. When it comes to 
pregnant women who are at risk, there are two people at risk: the 
pregnant woman and the unborn child.
  The science is clear. Technology today allows us to look inside the 
womb. We see the baby's development day by day, week by week. That 
person is the most vulnerable population that should be protected.
  This motion to recommit is simple; it is clear; it is direct. It 
clarifies that the protection of vulnerable populations must include 
any unborn child.
  Yesterday, Chairman Pallone recognized the potential harm these 
chemicals can have on child development. Today, Speaker Pelosi 
reiterated the importance of protecting expectant mothers. By rejecting 
this amendment, you would be further denying the science of the 
development of a child in the womb.
  This motion is consistent with policy that EPA itself has employed: 
considering the impact of chemical exposures to babies in the womb. For 
example, in 2011, the EPA, under President Obama, decided to regulate 
certain chemicals in drinking water based in part on the impacts to the 
in utero person.
  Congress also passed bipartisan legislation, a law in 2004, the 
Unborn Victims of Violence Act, recognizing the personhood of an unborn 
child.
  This motion makes a small but vital improvement to this bill. It is 
an improvement that is necessary to preserve the central goal of the 
bill's sponsors: protecting vulnerable populations.
  If that is the majority's goal, then this amendment should be 
accepted. It does not strike or delay anything in the bill. It only 
clarifies what is considered a vulnerable population based

[[Page H163]]

on the same language in the bipartisan 2004 act.
  Most importantly, it protects the unborn child, something that I hope 
everyone in this room can agree should be one of our greatest 
priorities: to protect people before they are born and at every stage 
of their life.
  I urge my colleagues to support science by supporting my motion to 
recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to 
recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clay). The gentlewoman from Michigan is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for my colleague, but 
I oppose this amendment because it is really nothing more than a 
political stunt.
  This bill will protect communities across this country. The drinking 
water standard in this bill will be protective of the health of 
populations at greater risk, what we generally call vulnerable 
populations.
  That requirement was opposed by the Republicans. Mr. Shimkus had an 
amendment to strike that provision of the bill. He opposed protecting 
vulnerable populations. I deeply respect my colleague, but he opposed 
it every step of the way; and yesterday, he withdrew that amendment.
  If Republicans want to protect vulnerable populations, including 
pregnant women, infants, and children, they should support this bill.
  Let's be very clear: PFAS is an urgent health and environmental 
threat, period, and no one can deny that.
  The number of contamination sites, nationwide, is growing at an 
alarming rate, including our military bases--almost 400 military 
installations in this country.

  Developed in the 1940s, PFAS is a forever chemical. It is in the 
blood of more than 99 percent of Americans. It poses potential health 
risks. We know it. EPA has known the risk for decades and allowed this 
contamination to spread.
  EPA is not going to take care of this problem. Congress needs to act. 
The longer we wait, the worse the contamination becomes. The time is 
now to act on the PFAS Action Act. We have got to do it together. The 
American people count on us.
  The bill is a strong and serious package, and it is supported by some 
Republicans. It will jump-start cleanups. It will get PFAS out of our 
drinking water. It will limit PFAS in the air. It will limit PFAS in 
our rivers and streams. It will drive and require comprehensive testing 
for PFAS, and it will give our first responders and consumers tools to 
protect themselves.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this motion to recommit and 
urge Members to support the underlining bill so we can work together to 
enact laws that protect the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to recommit.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 5-
minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by a 5-minute 
vote on passage of the bill.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 187, 
noes 219, not voting 24, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 12]

                               AYES--187

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Bost
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Cook
     Crenshaw
     Cuellar
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hurd (TX)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Lipinski
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McAdams
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     Meadows
     Miller
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Peterson
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rooney (FL)
     Rose, John W.
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Spano
     Stauber
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Thornberry
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Turner
     Upton
     Van Drew
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Wright
     Yoho
     Young
     Zeldin

                               NOES--219

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--24

     Aderholt
     Brady
     Buchanan
     Carter (TX)
     Crawford
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Gabbard
     Gohmert
     Granger
     Hunter
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Lewis
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     Meuser
     Nadler
     Payne
     Serrano
     Simpson
     Smucker
     Thompson (PA)
     Walker

                              {time}  1105

  Mr. DeFAZIO changed his vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
  So the motion to recommit was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.

[[Page H164]]

  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 247, 
nays 159, not voting 24, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 13]

                               YEAS--247

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brindisi
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten (IL)
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Cisneros
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cook
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cox (CA)
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Cunningham
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Engel
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Finkenauer
     Fletcher
     Fortenberry
     Foster
     Frankel
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallagher
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Haaland
     Harder (CA)
     Hastings
     Hayes
     Heck
     Herrera Beutler
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Holding
     Horn, Kendra S.
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hudson
     Huffman
     Huizenga
     Hurd (TX)
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Kaptur
     Katko
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim
     King (NY)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Mast
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McKinley
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mucarsel-Powell
     Murphy (FL)
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Posey
     Pressley
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Reed
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rooney (FL)
     Rose (NY)
     Rouda
     Rouzer
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shalala
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stanton
     Stefanik
     Stevens
     Stivers
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres Small (NM)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Turner
     Underwood
     Upton
     Van Drew
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth
     Young
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--159

     Abraham
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Bost
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Comer
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson (OH)
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ferguson
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Foxx (NC)
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Gooden
     Gosar
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hern, Kevin
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill (AR)
     Hollingsworth
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lesko
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Marshall
     Massie
     McAdams
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     Meadows
     Miller
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Ratcliffe
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Riggleman
     Roby
     Rodgers (WA)
     Roe, David P.
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose, John W.
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Spano
     Stauber
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Taylor
     Thornberry
     Timmons
     Tipton
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Watkins
     Weber (TX)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Wright
     Yoho

                             NOT VOTING--24

     Aderholt
     Brady
     Buchanan
     Carter (TX)
     Crawford
     Evans
     Fitzpatrick
     Gohmert
     Granger
     Hunter
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Lewis
     Loudermilk
     Marchant
     Meuser
     Nadler
     Payne
     Serrano
     Simpson
     Smucker
     Thompson (PA)
     Walker
     Webster (FL)

                              {time}  1119

  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I could not 
attend the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on 
rollcall No. 13.


                          personal explanation

  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was absent today due to a medical 
emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``no'' on rollcall 
No. 9, ``no'' on rollcall No. 10, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 11, ``no'' on 
rollcall No. 12, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 13.


                          personal explanation

  Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted 
``yea'' on rollcall No. 9, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 10, ``nay'' on 
rollcall No. 11, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 12, and ``nay'' on rollcall 
No. 13.


                          personal explanation

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, for personal reasons, I was unable to vote 
today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 
5--Prev. Question, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 6--H. Res. 781, ``nay'' on 
rollcall No. 7--H. Con. Res. 83, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 8--H.R. 5078, 
``yea'' on rollcall No. 9--Burgess of Texas Part B Amdt. 2, ``yea'' on 
rollcall No. 10--Balderson of OH Part B Amdt. 6, ``nay'' on rollcall 
No. 11--Pappas of NH Part B Amdt. 13, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 12--MTR, 
and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 13--H.R. 535.

                          ____________________