Read full article by Annie Snider (Politico)
“House Democrats have dropped their bid to include key provisions regulating PFAS in the annual defense bill, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations — a move that could imperil the bill’s chances in the lower chamber…
‘Republicans have resisted Dem efforts for months to include strong PFAS provisions in the NDAA. This week, Democrats and Republicans were finally close to a good deal on PFAS provisions, but in a rush to quickly pass the NDAA, Chairman Smith — at the behest of Rep. Pallone — unilaterally took PFAS off the negotiating table,’ one source said by email.
But a congressional aide said the move could imperil the bill’s chances in the House, where 68 members said in October that they would vote against the defense bill if it did not include strong PFAS provisions…
A spokesperson for the House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats confirmed that efforts to craft compromise language on PFAS had failed.
‘We have not been able to reach a deal on cleanup of sites contaminated with PFAS, or on a protective drinking water standard, because Senate Republicans have refused to negotiate,’ the spokesperson said. ‘They are totally unwilling to consider any provisions that depart from their original text, and have rejected multiple good faith efforts on our end to reach a compromise, despite that being the entire purpose of a conference. We will not roll over and simply accept – let alone support – PFAS provisions that utterly fail to clean-up contaminated sites, protect Americans’ drinking water or our nation’s most vulnerable populations.’
Pallone had initially been reluctant to include PFAS regulations in the defense bill when it was on the House floor this summer. His committee last month marked up a PFAS package that was broader than the provisions included in either the House or Senate’s defense bills.
A spokesperson for Smith said she could not comment on ‘internal conference negotiations.'”