States Need More Help Replacing Lead Pipes. Congress May Cut Funds Instead

"The U.S. House voted to cut millions promised for the work this year. The Senate will vote this week, as advocates and some lawmakers push back."

"The Senate is taking up a spending package passed by the House of Representatives that would cut $125 million in funding promised this year to replace toxic lead pipes. 

Including three of 12 appropriations bills, this package will fund parts of the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate is slated to vote on it later this week. Near the end of more than 400 pages of text, it proposes repurposing some funds previously obligated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

That law, advanced by the Biden administration, promised $15 billion over five years to fund the replacement of service lines—pipes routing water into people’s homes and other buildings—that are made of or contain lead, a neurotoxin that can cause cognitive, developmental, reproductive and cardiovascular harm. 

The EPA released 2025 funding allocations in November, months late, obligating nearly $3 billion across the country. Illinois, the state with the most lead pipes in the nation, received the largest share. Another $3 billion was slated to be disbursed this year, the last for the funds."