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Floor Speech
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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act. I thank my colleagues Senator King and Senator Shaheen for joining me in introducing this important legislation for farmers across America and particularly in Maine and New Hampshire.
The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would provide vital assistance to farmers affected by PFAS contamination. PFAS are man-made chemicals--sometimes referred to as ``forever chemicals''--that can bioaccumulate in humans over time. They may traditionally be found in certain nonstick pans, some furniture, and firefighting foam and have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage, decreased fertility, and hormone disruption. PFAS contamination is a growing problem, and additional resources are needed to support affected communities.
In Maine, PFAS contamination affecting many different sectors, including agriculture, has been discovered over the past several years. The presence of PFAS in wastewater sludge once spread as fertilizer has prevented some Maine farms from selling their products, thus leading to significant financial hardship for these family farmers. One such farmer is Fred Stone, a dairy farmer in Arundel, ME. In 2016, Fred discovered that the milk produced on his farm contained some of the highest levels ever reported for a PFAS contaminant at that time. More recently, a dairy farm in Fairfield, ME, found PFAS levels in its milk that were 153 times higher than the State's standard.
Dairy is not the only agricultural sector affected by these harmful chemicals. Adam Nordell and his wife Johanna Davis, from Unity, ME, learned that PFAS contaminated the soil and water in their organic vegetable farm, the result of sludge spread on their land in the 1990s. Tests showed that Adam and Johanna had levels of PFAS in their blood that were even higher than chemical plant workers who had manufactured PFAS for decades.
Currently, USDA Provides limited support through the Dairy Indemnity Payment Program, DIPP, to dairy farmers who have been directed to remove their milk from the commercial market. This program, however, falls far short in meeting the growing needs of all affected farmers in the State of Maine. Moreover, this program helps only dairy farmers, excluding the farmers of other agricultural products who have had their livelihoods disrupted by PFAS contamination. USDA should do more to assist all farmers harmed by these chemicals. That is what our legislation aims to do.
Specifically, the funds authorized by the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act could be used for a variety of purposes at the State level, including financial assistance to affected farmers; capacity building for PFAS testing for soil or water sources; blood monitoring for individuals to make informed decisions about their health; equipment to ensure a farm remains profitable during or after known PFAS contamination; alternative production systems or remediation strategies; educational programs for farmers experiencing PFAS contamination; and research on soil and water remediation systems and the viability of those systems for farms.
In addition to making new resources available, our bill would create a task force at USDA charged with identifying other USDA programs to which PFAS contamination remediation should be added as an eligible activity. This would help bring more resources to farmers through existing programs. Additionally, the task force would provide technical assistance to States to help them coordinate their responses effectively.
USDA needs to step up and provide support to farmers, who through no fault of their own are at risk of losing their livelihoods because of PFAS contamination. The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would direct the Department to help where it is needed most. I know Secretary of Agriculture Rollins cares about this problem due to our discussions on PFAS.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill. As the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee begin work on the 2026 farm bill, I hope that we can work together to pass the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act into law. ______
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