Biden’s Milwaukee Visit Highlights Nationwide Push to Eradicate Lead Exposure

MILWAUKEE, Wis (Civic Media) – Yesterday was a day to spolight the lead threat. President Joe Biden visited Milwaukee on Tuesday to announce a new Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring local governments to replace all lead service lines by 2037. The mandate is supported by $2.6 billion from the EPA’s budget for water infrastructure investments.

On the same day, Milwaukee and Kenosha counties were awarded nearly $13 million in grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for lead paint abatement in older homes.

Speaking at Milwaukee’s Public Works Field Office, Biden emphasized the importance of eliminating lead exposure through drinking water. “There’s no safe level of lead exposure. Period. None,” he stated. “The only way forward is to replace every lead pipeline and connect the American people to clean water.”

The rule aims to address the estimated 9 million lead service lines still in use across the United States. Biden highlighted that $43 million of the new funding will be directed to Wisconsin, which has approximately 340,000 lead pipes.

Lead poses a significant health risk to humans, with no safe level of exposure identified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The effects of lead exposure are often not immediately seen, but can have serious consequences, particularly for children’s development.

Before the president took the stage, local leaders and members of the community spoke. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Governor Tony Evers, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Adminstrator Michael S. Regan delivered traditional warm-up speaker speeches, with union member Alonso Romo introducing the President. Romo works with LiUNA Local 113, an outfit that’s been active in replacing lead service lines in Milwaukee.

This visit marks Biden’s seventh to the swing state this year, coming just four weeks before the presidential election.

Next week, Jill Biden is set to campaign for Kamala Harris in Madison as part of a five-day tour by the First Lady through key battleground states, including Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s First Lady, Gwen Walz, is campaigning today in Beloit and Madison.