Senator Tammy Baldwin has unveiled a pair of bills.
The first, which was crafted alongside Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, is called the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act, or the Healthy H2O Act. As the name suggests, the bill aims to provide grants for water testing and treatment technology directly to individuals and non-profits in rural communities.
Sen. Baldwin called the bill important because “All Wisconsin families, businesses, and communities should trust that the water coming out of their faucets is safe to drink.”
The second measure is called the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act.
The legislation would protect workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish an enforceable federal standard to protect workers in high-heat environments with commonsense measures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and emergency response for workers with heat-related illness.
The Wisconsin Democrat said of the measure, “Far too many of our workers are being pushed to the brink in dangerous heat conditions – it’s wrong, and they deserve the dignity to be protected.”
