H.R. 6626

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6626 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6626

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to codify a Federal cause of 
action and a type of remedy available for individuals significantly 
exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, to encourage research 
and accountability for irresponsible discharge of those substances, and 
for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 11, 2025

Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Nadler, and 
Ms. Tlaib) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to codify a Federal cause of 
action and a type of remedy available for individuals significantly 
exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, to encourage research 
and accountability for irresponsible discharge of those substances, and 
for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``PFAS Accountability Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has 
detected numerous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
(referred to in this Act as ``PFAS'') in the blood serum of 
individuals in the United States, all of which come from 
manufacturing and use of PFAS by humans, as there is no natural 
source of PFAS in human blood;
(2) peer-reviewed studies by other organizations have 
detected PFAS in the drinking water of at least 200,000,000 
individuals in the United States;
(3) PFAS are introduced into the market every year, and 
little research is conducted to ensure the safety of PFAS for 
individuals;
(4) as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act, 
a Federal statutory cause of action does not exist for 
individuals harmed by the long-term effects of PFAS exposure; 
and
(5) PFAS exposure, even at low levels, has been linked to 
chronic diseases, including cancer, reproductive and 
developmental harms, and harms to the immune system.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to encourage PFAS research and provide accountability 
for irresponsible PFAS manufacturing and irresponsible use of 
PFAS in manufacturing by codifying--
(A) a Federal cause of action for individuals 
significantly exposed to PFAS; and
(B) a medical monitoring remedy for those 
individuals;
(2) to help address harm to individuals significantly 
exposed to PFAS by--
(A) codifying that harm as an injury at law and 
equity; and
(B) shifting the costs of medical monitoring from 
those individuals to the parties responsible for the 
exposure; and
(3) to provide incentives for industry to fund PFAS safety 
research.

SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION AND REMEDIES.

(a) In General.--The Toxic Substances Control Act is amended by 
inserting after section 24 (15 U.S.C. 2623) the following:

``SEC. 25. INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO PERFLUOROALKYL AND POLYFLUOROALKYL 
SUBSTANCES.

``(a) Definition of PFAS.--In this section, the term `PFAS' means a 
perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance with at least 1 fully 
fluorinated carbon atom.
``(b) Cause of Action.--An individual who is significantly exposed 
to PFAS or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual was 
significantly exposed to PFAS may bring a claim, individually or on 
behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, in any district 
court of the United States for appropriate legal and equitable relief 
against any person that--
``(1) engaged in any portion of a manufacturing process 
that created the PFAS to which the individual was significantly 
exposed, including any telomer, fluorosurfactant, or toll 
manufacturing process leading to the creation of the PFAS to 
which the individual was significantly exposed; and
``(2) foresaw or reasonably should have foreseen that the 
creation or use of PFAS would result in human exposure to PFAS.
``(c) Medical Monitoring.--
``(1) In general.--A court may award medical monitoring to 
an individual or class of individuals bringing a claim under 
subsection (b) if--
``(A) the individual or class has been 
significantly exposed to PFAS;
``(B) as a result of that exposure, the individual 
or class has suffered an increased risk of developing a 
disease associated with exposure to PFAS;
``(C) as a result of that increased risk, there is 
a reasonable basis for the individual or class to 
undergo periodic diagnostic medical examinations of a 
nature or frequency that is different from or 
additional to what would be prescribed in the absence 
of the exposure; and
``(D) those medical examinations are effective in 
detecting a disease associated with exposure to PFAS.
``(2) Presumption of significant exposure.--
``(A) Individuals.--An individual plaintiff shall 
be presumed to have been significantly exposed to PFAS 
under paragraph (1)(A) if the individual--
``(i) demonstrates that--
``(I) the defendant engaged in any 
portion of a manufacturing process that 
created the PFAS to which the 
individual was significantly exposed, 
including any telomer, 
fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing 
process leading to the creation of the 
PFAS to which the individual was 
significantly exposed; and
``(II) the PFAS described in 
subclause (I) were released into 1 or 
more areas where the individual would 
have been exposed for a cumulative 
period of not less than 1 year; or
``(ii) offers testing results that 
demonstrate that PFAS or metabolites of PFAS 
have been or are currently detected in the body 
or blood serum of the individual.
``(B) Class actions.--In a class action, a 
presumption of significant exposure to PFAS under 
paragraph (1)(A) shall be established for the class 
by--
``(i) demonstrating that--
``(I) the defendant engaged in any 
portion of a manufacturing process that 
created the PFAS to which the class 
members were significantly exposed, 
including any telomer, 
fluorosurfactant, or toll manufacturing 
process leading to the creation of the 
PFAS to which the class members were 
significantly exposed; and
``(II) the PFAS described in 
subclause (I) were released into 1 or 
more areas where a representative 
portion of the class members would have 
been exposed for a cumulative period of 
not less than 1 year; or
``(ii) offering testing results that 
demonstrate that PFAS or metabolites of PFAS 
have been or are currently detected in the 
bodies of a representative portion of class 
members that share sufficient common exposure 
characteristics with the class.
``(3) Rebutting the presumption.--
``(A) In general.--A defendant may rebut a 
presumption of significant exposure with respect to an 
individual plaintiff or class member for which testing 
results are not offered under subparagraph (A)(ii) or 
(B)(ii) of paragraph (2) by offering results for that 
individual or class member of testing that--
``(i) uses a generally accepted method for 
detecting the particular PFAS or metabolites of 
PFAS at issue;
``(ii) is performed by an independent 
provider agreed on by both parties; and
``(iii) confirms that the relevant PFAS or 
metabolites of PFAS likely were not present in 
the body of the individual or class member at 
the relevant time in a sufficient quantity to 
qualify as significant exposure under paragraph 
(1)(A).
``(B) Costs.--A defendant shall be responsible for 
the costs of testing under subparagraph (A).
``(C) Independent provider.--If both parties cannot 
agree on an independent provider under subparagraph 
(A)(ii), the court shall appoint an independent 
provider.
``(4) Increased risk of developing disease.--
``(A) In general.--If there is insufficient 
toxicological data to reasonably determine whether an 
individual or class has suffered an increased risk of 
developing a disease associated with exposure to any 
individual PFAS or group of PFAS under paragraph 
(1)(B), a court may lower the standard for scientific 
proof with regard to the increased risk of developing 
that disease until independent and reliable 
toxicological data is available with respect to that 
individual PFAS or group of PFAS.
``(B) Ordering studies.--To make available 
independent and reliable toxicological data described 
in subparagraph (A) with respect to an individual PFAS 
or group of PFAS, a court may order new or additional 
epidemiological, toxicological, or other studies or 
investigations of that individual PFAS or group of PFAS 
as part of a medical monitoring remedy awarded under 
paragraph (1).
``(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that courts 
should encourage more reliable and independent research into the latent 
health effects of PFAS.
``(e) Effect on State Law Claims and Remedies.--Nothing in this 
section--
``(1) preempts, alters, bars, or precludes any State law 
claims or remedies, including any State law claims or remedies 
for an injury addressed by this section; or
``(2) provides an exclusive claim or remedy.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Toxic 
Substances Control Act (Public Law 94-469; 90 Stat. 2003) is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 24 the following:

``Sec. 25. Individuals exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 
substances.''.
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