Michael Hickey Will Return To Capitol To Testify On PFOA
By Doug La Rocque
Hoosick Falls resident Michael Hickey has previously been the guest of Congressman Antonio Delgado to present testimony on the PFOA pollution in the village. Now he is being invited back to testify before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. The testimony is slated for 10 am on Wednesday September 18.
On his Facebook post, Mr. Hickey said “I’d like to share the community’s stories in my written testimony. Many of you have shared your personal health issues with me over the years, and if you are willing to share with Congress, please private message me and I will include them.”
Mr. Hickey will only have 5 minutes to give oral testimony, but expects a number of questions from the committee, and they are willing to look at the written testimony and comments as well. He tells The Eastwick Press, the invitation came as a “bit of a surprise,” but welcomes the opportunity to talk about PFOA not only locally but as it impacts the nation as a whole.
That is a sentiment echoed by Hoosick Falls Mayor Rob Allen, who is wholeheartedly behind Mr. Hickey’s upcoming testimony, telling The Eastwick Press, “Michael Hickey is the perfect person to go to Washington and testify on behalf of Hoosick Falls and other communities that have or will be facing PFAS contamination. Michael has tirelessly worked to understand the exceedingly complicated PFAS situation, from health effects and exposure pathways to its uses in manufacturing and fire fighting, to its occurrences in everyday products. He has studied legislation on the state and national level, and has been working in his quiet, unassuming way to connect with and educate lawmakers across the state and country on what the issues are, and more importantly, how to solve them. He is a wealth of knowledge, and will be an asset to Congress members as they consider the many bills before them regarding PFAS.”
“The federal government has been very slow to react to the PFAS crisis that has been unfolding since before Hoosick Falls found out about PFOA in the drinking water supply. Even though we have been successfully filtering PFOA out of our water for a couple of years, the problem remains unaddressed in many other areas of the country. There is still much more that needs to be done to understand the full use and potential exposure pathways of the entire PFAS family, and I hope that Congress listens intently to Michael and acts soon to properly test for and regulate PFAS chemicals.”