Senate Democrats demanded that the Trump administration reverse a decision by the War Department to delay the cleanup of "forever chemicals" at military installations across the U.S.
About 150 military sites have been given revised timelines for cleanup of chemicals known as PFAS, commonly found in firefighting foam and used extensively for decades by the military in training exercises that led to soil and groundwater contamination, Stars and Stripes reported Wednesday.
The Pentagon's new timeline would delay cleanup at some sites by nearly a decade, according to a timetable released in March and posted publicly in recent weeks without an announcement.
The delays vary by location but represent a significant revision from the earlier cleanup schedule released in December 2024, the final days of the Biden administration.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and 27 of her colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, arguing the postponed timetables will harm service members and communities.
"We write to express our concerns regarding the Department of Defense's decision to delay the cleanup of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at military installations across the country," the letter stated. "This is unacceptable.
"For years, communities contaminated by PFAS from nearby DOD installations in our states have waited for the DOD to take action.
"We request that the Department reverse its decision, return to the previous timetable released in December 2024, and accelerate efforts to remediate confirmed PFAS contamination."
At least 700 military sites in all 50 states are known or suspected of having PFAS contamination, according to Stars and Stripes.
The chemicals linger in the environment and in people and have been linked to certain types of cancer, decreased fertility, and developmental delays in children.
The Pentagon has spent at least $2.6 billion addressing PFAS contamination since military communities began detecting high levels of the chemicals in their drinking water in 2017.
The cleanup effort is expected to take decades and cost billions of dollars, according to a February report by the Government Accountability Office.
Further delaying cleanups will "only increase the health and economic costs to service members and communities across the country," the senators warned in their letter to Hegseth.
They also expressed alarm at what they called a lack of transparency by the Pentagon in notifying stakeholders about changes to the cleanup timelines.
"Service members, their families, and the communities surrounding contaminated military installations need to be able to make informed decisions about their health," the letter stated.
The senators' letter came as Republican-led legislation seeks to undo restrictions on the War Department's use of PFAS.
House and Senate versions of defense policy and spending bills for fiscal year 2026 call for delaying a phaseout of PFAS firefighting foam and reducing funding for the cleanup of contaminated sites, according to Stars and Stripes.
Other provisions would lift a moratorium on incinerating firefighting foam and rescind prohibitions on the military's ability to buy everyday items made with PFAS, such as cookware and carpet.
Lawmakers are now negotiating the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets Pentagon policy, and plan to vote on the legislation in December.
Congress has until the end of January to pass an accompanying spending bill for the department under the deal that ended last week's government shutdown.
Newsmax has reached out to the War Department for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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