FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chana Goussetis, Communication & Marketing Director, National Environmental Health Association

January 6, 2022

Denver, CO – At the end of this term, the U.S. environmental health community will lose one of the foremost supporters of environmental health in Congress—Representative Brenda Lawrence (MI-D). Lawrence’s commitment to environmental health issues has been lifelong, most recently demonstrated when she sponsored the Environmental Health Workforce Act in 2019 and 2021.

As emphasized in the statement by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker  Nancy Polosi (CA-D) on January 5, 2022, Lawrence has been the voice for communities being impacted by environmental hazards and the environmental health workforce who works to protect them. "When a water crisis erupted in nearby Flint, she was a leader in sounding the alarm about the danger that lead pipes pose to our children. In the years since, she has proudly led the charge to improve our nation's water infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities.”

In the last two years alone, Lawrence has highlighted the need for annual lead testing in local waterways; allocated funding for the restoration of waterways; supported investment in combatting weather-related power outages; reintroduced the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability (WATER) Act; voted for additional funding to combat COVID-19; supported funding for the cleanup of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); and supported national infrastructure plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and boosting resiliency.

“We are incredibly grateful for Representative Lawrence’s partnership and support for environmental health issues over the past seven years,” said Dr. David Dyjack, National Environmental Health Association executive director. "She has helped bring issues of clean water, clean air, and safe environments to the forefront and has taken action to help educate about and fund this important work.”