Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) partnered with Congressman John Sullivan (R-OK) to introduce H.R. 5911, the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012 this week. The legislation reforms an Environmental Protection Agency mandate called the “Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP)” rule, which requires any home renovation — however minor — disturbing more than six square feet of a pre-1978 house, window, or door, to follow rigorous work practices like plastic sheathing and lead dust control, all supervised by an EPA-certified renovator.

“The federal government monitoring how you paint your kitchen walls is straight out of a Twilight Zone episode. This bill protects children’s health without burdening homeowners and contractors with costly regulations more befitting of a Superfund site,” said Rep. Murphy (R-PA), co-author of the legislation.

As Vice Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment and Economy, Murphy has been examining the impact EPA rules are having on jobs and economic growth. While working on the legislation Rep. Murphy engaged with numerous Southwestern Pennsylvania home remodeling contractors, who said the EPA mandates had increased costs on simple projects like window painting by 30%.

Jeff Moeslein, President of Legacy Remodeling, Inc. in Dormont said the bill would protect vulnerable populations while saving money for homeowners.

“Congressman Murphy’s legislation strikes the right balance between protecting vulnerable children and pregnant women while securing the rights of other homeowners to determine for themselves how best to spend their money on their home. This bill will provide a better environment for job creation in the home improvement industry, which has struggled as a result of the economy over the past few years.”

Rep. John Sullivan, lead author of the legislation offered the following statement. “This is a good government solution to ensure EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and paint rule is both workable and achievable for businesses to comply with. Since EPA implemented this rule in 2010, numerous complications and unintended consequences have arisen that makes compliance with the rule almost impossible for anyone involved with renovation and remodeling. This legislation is a much-needed legislative fix to ensure public health is protected by increasing compliance with the rule and it will hold EPA accountable for their failure to produce viable test kits to meet their own regulatory mandates.”

The Murphy-Sullivan bill would restore a clause to the lead paint rule allowing homeowners without small children or pregnant women to “opt-out” from the rule’s proscriptive controls. The bill also suspends the rule if the EPA cannot approve a commercially available and reliable lead paint testing kit. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK).

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