REPUBLICANS AWOL on PFAS ❌

Republican members of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee were no-shows on Tuesday, after Gov. Tony Evers called a special session of the budget-writing panel to address PFAS contamination in Wisconsin drinking water.

PFAS is a chemical acronym for thousands of different man-made compounds that were used to create products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam. Much of what was dumped and made its way into groundwater has been shown to have negative effects on human health.

While the Legislature did put $125 million in the state budget for PFAS cleanup, Republicans have been refusing since last summer to release the money, unless their demands are met to make it harder for the Department of Natural Resources to go after polluters.

Republican lawmakers say the DNR will target innocent landowners. Evers and Democratic lawmakers on the committee say protections already exist and Republicans should stop obstructing the effort to make drinking water safe.

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