Senators Shaheen & Hassan Join in Introducing Legislation to Help Protect Children From Home Lead Hazards

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), along with a group of their colleagues, in introducing legislation to help families cover the cost of eliminating lead from their homes. With lead hazards lurking in an estimated 3.6 million homes of families with young children nationwide, the Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2020 would significantly broaden the national response to this public health challenge by providing refundable tax credits for homeowners, landlords, and tenants to remove lead from homes.

“Lead poisoning is a serious public health challenge that’s persisted in New Hampshire and communities across the country for far too long. Every family should feel safe in their own home, which is why this bill to enhance our national response to remove lead from homes and facilities is so important,” Senator Shaheen said. “By offering tax credits to help cover the cost of lead removal, this bill would be a crucial step towards helping families in New Hampshire and throughout the nation eliminate this toxic hazard from their homes once and for all. I urge Leader McConnell to hold a vote on this important, common-sense legislation without delay.”

“Lead poisoning is a preventable tragedy that has devastating and long-lasting health challenges for children in New Hampshire and across the country,” Senator Hassan said. “This commonsense legislation will help protect children from these damaging toxins by establishing tax credits to help families in New Hampshire and across the country cover the costs of lead removal from their homes. I will keep working across the aisle to protect the health and safety of Granite Staters.” 

The Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2020 would create tax credits worth up to $4,000 to cover half the cost of abating lead hazards in paint, pipes, or soil. The new tax credits would be available to offset the costs of removing lead from houses built before lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, supplementing state and local lead control programs.

This legislation builds on Senator Hassan’s efforts to protect children from lead exposure. Last year, Senator Hassan joined her colleagues in urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to do more to address prevention, screening, and treatment of children affected by lead exposure.