Biden moves to replace all lead pipes within the next decade

By Betsy Klein, CNN

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (CNN) — President Joe Biden took a major step toward eliminating the national scourge of lead pipes, unveiling a new rule mandating the removal of all lead pipes within the next decade, in addition to $2.6 billion in new funding toward the environmental and public health goal.

“It’s taken too long and hasn’t been given enough priority – until now. This is the United States of America, for God’s sake. There’s no safe level of lead exposure. Period. None,” Biden said Tuesday at the headquarters of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Department of Public Works.

Biden offered a swipe at former President Donald Trump, whom he referred to as “my predecessor,” and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, whom he directly named.

“I said I’d keep my commitment to insist that all communities have access to investments and improved safety and security in their neighborhood. And that’s what we’re doing – leaving no one behind,” he said.

Biden continued, “There’s some folks who don’t have any problem leaving people behind, like my predecessor in the White House and his allies in Congress. Like your senator, Ron Johnson, who voted against everything I just talked about,” noting that Johnson called the infrastructure law’s public health provisions “a radical agenda.”

Biden crossed himself and joked that he needed to “restrain my Irish side.”

“I don’t think there’s a damn thing radical about protecting kids from lead poisoning,” he said to applause.

Biden railed against Trump and Johnson for “rolling back” water protections, “destroying our wetlands,” “(slashing) the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget,” and “(eliminating) important programs that guaranteed clean water.”

“We can’t go backward – we have to keep moving forward, protect the health and the well-being of our families, our communities, and our country,” Biden said, a nod to Vice President Kamala Harris’ “not going back” campaign messaging.

Battleground Wisconsin, which will be critical to Harris’ electoral map, has an estimated 340,000 lead pipes, according to the White House, and has accelerated its replacement of those pipes due to funding from Biden’s signature infrastructure bill.

The announcement delivered on a campaign promise – and a key piece of the president’s legacy.

“What’s the government for if it cannot protect public health?” he questioned.

The move, Biden added, will “save lives. It also saves the taxpayers millions of dollars over time. It’s about the basics of clean water. To me, it’s a simple proposition. This is also about fairness.”

Lead is toxic to humans, and there is no safe level of exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure is not typically apparent right away, but it can cause developmental delays in children. Initial symptoms of lead poisoning may include head, stomach and muscle aches; vomiting; anemia; irritability; fatigue; and weight loss.

Lead exposure disproportionately impacts communities of color and can have significant impact on child development.

“We have an obligation to make things right,” Biden said.

He nodded to the union workers present Tuesday, many of whom have been directly involved in Milwaukee’s efforts to replace its lead pipes.

Those efforts, he said, have proven “what’s good for our health and for our environment is also good for our economy, and it’s good for jobs.”

Asked whether Biden’s team is concerned that a future Republican administration could roll back the moves, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan indicated to reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday that the Biden administration feels “very confident” that the rule is “legally durable,” “scientifically sound,” and “well within the four corners of the Clean Water Act” and could withstand challenges under new administrations over the next 10 years.

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