White House releases plan to replace all of the nation's lead pipes in the next decade

The Biden administration outlined a plan on Thursday to replace all of the nation's lead water pipes in the next decade. The multi-agency Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan will use $15 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last month and could require additional funding down the line.

"The bottom line is that there is no reason in the 21st century for why people are still exposed to this substance that was poisoning people back in the 18th century. There is no reason," Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech Thursday morning. "But here's the truth, and it's a hard truth: Millions of people in our country, many of them children, are still exposed to lead every day."

Up to 10 million households in the country are connected to water through lead service pipes and service lines, according to the White House. And 400,000 schools and child care facilities in the country are at risk of being exposed to lead in their water. Black people who are not of Hispanic descent are more than twice as likely to live in housing at higher risks for exposure to lead-based paints and approximately 24 million housing units have significant lead paint hazards.