Vice President Kamala Harris visits Pittsburgh, spotlights pledge to remove lead hazard from water lines
Harris speaks at Community Empowerment Association in Homewood, discusses federal funding for replacing lead water lines
Harris speaks at Community Empowerment Association in Homewood, discusses federal funding for replacing lead water lines
Harris speaks at Community Empowerment Association in Homewood, discusses federal funding for replacing lead water lines
Vice President Kamala Harris came to Pittsburgh Friday to drive home the Biden administration's infrastructure commitment to help communities do what Pittsburgh is doing — removing and replacing hazardous lead drinking water lines.
Click the video player above to watch Harris' remarks in Pittsburgh.
Harris said she came "to highlight the work that is happening in local communities like Pittsburgh, which are models of what can and will happen around the country. In large part, the work that we are doing is in response to the advocacy that has been coming out of leaders like the leaders here in Pittsburgh for years."
In remarks outside the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood, Harris said the work happening in Pittsburgh to remove hazardous lead water lines is a model of what can happen in the rest of the country.
The Biden Administration's Lead Action Plan includes billions of dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding in addition to annual money for the job and mobilizing other resources.
The Biden Administration's Lead Action Plan is to remove all lead water lines across the U.S. within 10 years. Pittsburgh is on track to do it here by 2026.
The administration has already committed $55 billion to remove lead water lines across America.
"We came to Pittsburgh to talk about you here in your backyard, but then to talk about you around the country as a model," Harris said.
Watch Bob Mayo's report from Homewood: Click the video below.
A new development was announced during the visit — more than $500 million for state and local governments to reduce lead exposure and build healthier homes.
"We are announcing it here today because we know this community has stepped up in a way that so many have not. You have started to attack the problem but we have a long way to go," said Marcia Fudge, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who, along with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, joined Harris for the Pittsburgh visit.
"There are plenty of folks who live in homes, whether they be renters or owners, that may be unaware there is lead in their paint or in the pipes. So again, this highlights the importance of what's happening here in Pittsburgh," Harris said.
Before her public remarks, the vice president sat down privately with a small group of Pittsburghers who've dealt with the impact of lead in drinking water and in-home paint.
"I shared my family's story of my 16-year-old son having elevated lead levels which caused him to have headaches, and my 76-year-old father who developed respiratory issues as well as other health complications," Kim Clark Baskin said.
Harris said, "The realities of lead poisoning includes creating developmental issues for our children. Learning disabilities can result from drinking toxic water. And it's basically poison."
Pittsburgh's commitment to getting lead out of the water system came after levels spiked several years ago.
Harris said in addition to health concerns, equity is also an issue in addressing lead contamination.
"If you're working three jobs, if you're working minimum wage, trying to make it day to day, probably can't afford to get done the work to remove the lead. That's where the government has the responsibility to kick in," Harris said. "President Joe Biden and I, our administration, we all believe that all people have a right to be able to drink clean water, that all people have a right to breathe clean air," Harris said.
Before leaving Pittsburgh, Harris and her husband made an unannounced stop at Tree of Life Synagogue, the site of the mass shooting in 2018 that killed 11 worshipers. They spoke with Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and placed a rock of remembrance in an outdoor courtyard.