TUCSON— Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva submitted testimony to the House Armed Services Committee and called for the allocation of more PFAS remediation funds in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In his testimony, he highlighted numerous projects in Tucson in need of support to address historic PFAS contamination in Southern Arizona. His testimony read in part:

“The latest report from the Department of Defense PFAS Task Force from this month has noted that the military now has at least 651 sites that may have been contaminated a more than 50 percent jump from its last tally. This figure is concerning and highlights the need for the Department of Defense to act fast. Like hundreds of military installations in our nation, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the Arizona Air National Guard and surrounding areas have dealt with the impacts of PFAS contamination first-hand. Our military service members, their families and communities are directly and disproportionately affected by potential and significant PFAS contamination in the ground water.

For those reasons, I strongly encourage you to consider an increase in dedicated funding for remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination on or near military bases.”

Click here for the full testimony.

Additionally, Rep. Grijalva signed on to a bipartisan letter from the Congressional PFAS Task Force urging for the inclusion of several key provisions to protect service members from further PFAS contamination and to ensure any retired service members are properly notified of any past exposure.

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