[Senate Report 118-112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 250
118th Congress } { Report
1st Session } SENATE { 118-112
_______________________________________________________________________
PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM PFAS ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 820
TO ADD THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
TO THE LIST OF AGENCIES REQUIRED TO BE
REPRESENTED ON THE PFAS INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP
November 27, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
49-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Chelsea A. Davis, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 250
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-112
======================================================================
PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM PFAS ACT
_______
November 27, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 820]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 820) to add the
Consumer Product Safety Commission to the list of agencies
required to be represented on the PFAS interagency working
group, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 820, the Protecting Consumers from PFAS Act, would add
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to the list of
agencies required to be represented on the interagency working
group on research related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS interagency working group), established by
Section 332(b) of William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.\1\ Representation on
the working group would allow the CPSC to better protect the
public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with
consumer products that may contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS).
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\1\15 U.S.C. 8963(b).
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II. Background and the Need for Legislation
PFAS are manufactured chemicals that can be found in
industrial and consumer products. PFAS are often referred to as
``forever chemicals'' because they do not break down in the
environment or in living organisms.\2\ A growing list of over
9,000 PFAS chemicals threaten the health of workers, consumers
and communities.\3\
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\2\Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Protecting Against
`Forever Chemicals' (Mar. 16, 2023).
\3\Center for Disease Control and Prevention, The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS) (www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pfas/
default.html) (accessed Jun. 15, 2023).
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PFAS are found in everyday household products--including
stain-resistant fabrics, water-repellent clothing, and nonstick
cookware.\4\ PFAS chemicals are also found in industrial
production, firefighting foams, and waste, which can lead to
pervasive contamination of soil and water.\5\ In June 2022, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated its drinking
water health advisories for the two most widely studied PFAS--
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
(PFOS)--after finding that negative health effects can occur
with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero
and below EPA's ability to detect at this time.\6\
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\4\Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS) (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/activities/index.html) (accessed Jun.
15, 2023).
\5\U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Our Current Understanding
of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS (www.epa.gov/pfas/
our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas)
(accessed Jun. 15, 2023).
\6\U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces New Drinking
Water Health Advisories for PFAS Chemicals, $1 Billion in Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law Funding to Strengthen Health Protections (Jun. 15,
2022).
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PFAS contamination extends beyond drinking water and other
environmental impacts. A 2019 study published in the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences journal found PFAS
in consumers' blood, associated with food packaging (``Calories
of food eaten at home in the past 24 hours had significant
inverse associations with serum levels of all five PFASs'').\7\
Research suggests that in the U.S. population, most people have
been exposed to PFAS, specifically PFOA and PFOS, which has
been monitored through blood samples and studies collected by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).\8\ CDC
research has found that PFAS chemicals may be present in the
blood of up to 97% of Americans, but full exposure is difficult
to monitor due to the continued development of new types of
PFAS chemicals used in products.\9\
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\7\Herbert P. Susmann et al., Dietary Habits Related to Food
Packaging and Population Exposure to PFAS, Environmental Health
Perspectives (Oct. 9, 2019).
\8\Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS), PFAS in the U.S. Population (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-
effects/us-population.html) (accessed Jun. 15 2023).
\9\National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (https://
www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/) (accessed Jun. 15, 2023).
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Exposure to PFAS chemicals is associated with widespread
negative health impacts. Studies have suggested that humans
exposed to PFAS may have an increased risk of kidney or
testicular cancer, increased cholesterol levels, changes in
liver enzymes, small decreases in infant birth weights,
decreased vaccine response in children, and increased risk of
high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.\10\ In
a June 2022 study, the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences found that ``higher levels of PFAS mixture were
significantly associated with higher risk of all-cause
mortality'' and that ``PFOS concentrations were positively
correlated with all-cause, heart disease, and cancer
mortality.''\11\
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\10\Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
(PFAS) and Your Health, What are the health effects of PFAS?
(www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html) (accessed Jun. 15,
2023).
\11\Xue Wen et al., Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
and Mortality in U.S. Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study,
Environmental Health Perspectives (Jun. 22, 2022).
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PFAS chemicals are ubiquitous in consumer products and the
CPSC recognized in June 2022 that it must follow EPA's goal of
regulating hazards associated with PFAS.\12\ This bill
therefore requires the CPSC to be represented on the PFAS
interagency working group, which coordinates federal PFAS
research and strategic planning. While the CPSC has voluntarily
attended working group meetings in the past, this requirement
would ensure their presence and participation would continue
through the duration of the working group. Providing the CPSC a
permanent seat on the PFAS interagency working group would help
ensure the working group is equipped with the right tools to
protect the public against risks of injury associated with
contaminated consumer products that may contain PFAS.
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\12\U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, EPA Takes Bold Action
to Alert the Public About Deadly Risks of PFAS & PFOS in Water Supply;
if There is No Safe Level in Water, CPSC Must Examine Whether We Should
Allow PFAS & PFOS in Consumer Products (Jun. 17, 2022) (www.cpsc.gov/
s3fs-public/Trumka%20PFAS%206.17.22.docx_.pdf?VersionId=NXxu863Yny.GeJS
O4v5kbqrW5N1wEeLD).
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III. Legislative History
Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 820, the
Protecting Consumers from PFAS Act, on March 15, 2023, with
original cosponsors Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Cynthia
Lummis (R-WY), and Peter Welch (D-VT). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 820 at a business meeting on
June 14, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Paul offered an
amendment to the bill, to limit appropriations funding and
clarify that no additional funds would be appropriated to
implement the legislation. The Paul amendment was adopted by
voice vote, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen,
Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott,
Hawley, and Marshall present. The bill, as amended, was ordered
reported favorably by roll call vote of 11 yeas to 2 nays, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall voting in the
affirmative, and Senators Paul and Lankford voting in the
negative. Senators Carper and Johnson voted yea by proxy, for
the record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Protecting Consumers from PFAS Act.''
Section 2. PFAS interagency working group
This section amends 332(b) of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021 to include the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the
PFAS interagency working group created by that Act.
Section 3. Limitation on new funding
Provides that no additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated for carrying out the act or any amendment made by
the act.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
S. 820 would add the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) to the list of agencies required to participate in the
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) interagency working
group that was established in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to
coordinate federal activities related to PFAS. Because CPSC
already participates in the group, CBO estimates that enacting
S. 820 would have no effect on the federal budget.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Katie Zhang. The
estimate was reviewed by Emily Stern, Senior Adviser for Budget
Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2021
* * * * * * *
DIVISION A--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATIONS
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
* * * * * * *
Subtitle B--Energy and Environment
* * * * * * *
SEC. 332. INTERAGENCY BODY ON RESEARCH RELATED TO PER- AND
POLYFLUROALKYL SYBSTANCES.
(a) * * *
(b) Agency Participation.--The interagency working group
shall include a representative of each of--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(19) the Office of Management and Budget; [and]
(20) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and
[20] (21) any such other Federal department or agency
as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy considers appropriate.
* * * * * * *