Remarks for the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements Announcement with President Biden, As Prepared for Delivery
Michael Regan
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hello everyone, it’s great to be here.
Let me start by thanking President Biden for inviting me to join him today...and for being laser focused on getting the lead out of our drinking water!
President Biden had a clear vision for a lead-free future even before the Biden-Harris administration began.
I’ve travelled all across the country with the President and the Vice President to see firsthand how lead contamination impacts families...impacts our communities...impacts our children.
Mr. President, I know you are listening backstage...and I want you to hear me say building a lead-free future is YOUR legacy...one that will be remembered for generations to come.
I’d also like to thank Vice President Harris...whose work and advocacy has led us to this moment.
Since the very beginning of this administration, Vice President Harris has been a champion for environmental justice — fighting to deliver equity and justice for overburdened and underserved communities all across the country.
And she understood that too many communities...especially communities of color and low-income communities … struggle to have access to clean, safe, and affordable water.
I joined the Vice President in Pittsburgh to highlight the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law...which included $15 billion dollars for lead pipe removal that she fought for.
We would not be here without her leadership.
I’d also like to thank Governor Evers, Mayor Johnson and all the state and local officials here today...Thank you for your leadership.
And thank you to all the environment leaders, community leaders, faith leaders, environmental justice leaders, EPA staff, and so many others for supporting the President's vision of a lead-free future.
Being back in Wisconsin feels like a full-circle moment...
After all, Milwaukee was one of my very first trips as EPA Administrator!
Vice President Harris and I traveled together during that trip to meet with Deanna and her 9-year-old son Aidan.
It broke my heart to learn that Aidan was lead-poisoned from the water flowing from the tap in their home.
And folks, since that day, I haven’t stopped thinking about Deanna, Aidan, and the countless families across the country who are living a similar nightmare.
They are the reason our work is so critical.
The science is clear...there is no safe level of lead in our drinking water.
In children, lead severely harms mental and physical development...slow down learning...and irreversibly damages the brain.
In adults, lead increases blood pressure and heart disease...decreases kidney function...and even causes cancer.
This is a matter of public health...a matter of environmental justice...a matter of basic human rights...
And it’s a problem that has been kicked down the road, impacting generation after generation.
But let me tell you something...it stops today!
President Biden is putting an end to this generational public health crisis...
President Biden is THE president who is delivering.
Thanks to the President’s leadership...EPA’s lead and copper standard we will eradicate all lead pipes in our communities across the country within 10 years...
AND thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $2.6 billion dollars will soon be flowing to communities to help with this critical work.
Investing in our water infrastructure is not just a public health benefit, it’s an economic benefit as well.
For every $1 billion dollars we invest in water infrastructure, we create 15,500 jobs across the country.
Right here in Milwaukee, EPA has partnered with the Department of Transportation, local governments, union, and education leaders to ensure the city has the skilled workers needed to realize the vision.
And earlier this year, President Biden launched the Milwaukee Workforce Hub to ensure that local community members … from every background and every neighborhood...can access good-paying jobs, making their communities stronger and safer.
Thanks to these efforts, today we are proud to join Mayor Johnson to launch new commitments to expand these apprenticeships and get more people...including from historically under-represented communities...into the career pipeline, ensuring there are jobs waiting for them when they graduate.
I’d like to especially thank leaders from City Hall, the local labor community, WRTP Big Step, and the countless others who have worked so hard to make this Workforce Hub initiative a success.
Mr. President, we know you are backstage listening … so please hear us loud and clear!
Delivering a lead-free America is your legacy … you made a promise to the American people, and you’ve kept your word!
And it’s an honor to work alongside you every single day for a cleaner, safer, and healthier America.
Thank you!