North Columbus News

Yesterday, Congressmen Mike Carey (OH-15) and Chris Deluzio (PA-17) sent a letter to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, calling for a hearing and swift committee review of the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act of 2024.

This proposal, introduced a few weeks ago by Congressman David Joyce and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, would authorize funding through Fiscal Year 2028 to conduct a study of the long-term health impacts of the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. Both Congressmen Carey and Deluzio are co-sponsors of the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act of 2024.

"We write today to request you hold a legislative hearing and markup on H.R. 8537, the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act, which we have both cosponsored," write the congressmen in a joint letter. "The residents of Darlington, Pennsylvania; East Palestine, Ohio; and the surrounding areas need to understand the long-term impacts of this disaster on their health, and the East Palestine Health Impact Monitoring Act will help achieve this. To ensure the assessment is a success, we support the Department of Health and Human Services technical assistance to the legislation to allow for appropriate time and resources to fully understand the impact of the spill to the surrounding community’s public health."

The full letter is available here.