The House yesterday passed legislation that seeks to provide compensation for the thousands of families whose homes have been contaminated by tainted drywall.

In a voice vote, the House passed Virginia Republican Scott Rigell's H.R. 4212.

The bill seeks to address imported drywall that was used during the housing boom and during reconstruction efforts on the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The material has since been linked to a myriad of harmful respiratory health effects, and there have been thousands of cases of it corroding electrical systems. The drywall largely came from China, but victims have been unable to seek compensation because Chinese manufacturers have refused to submit to the U.S. court system.

"This is a bill about protecting American families -- their health and financial well being," Rigell said in a statement. "Too many of our local families have suffered enough, and it is up to Congress to ensure that preventative standards are in place so no American family is faced with the hardship and heartache from contaminated drywall ever again."

The issue has percolated on Capitol Hill for years without much action. At a Senate hearing last December, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D), a former governor, said he "can't think of a more frustrating issue that I've been involved with" (E&E Daily, Dec. 7, 2011).

Regulators are well aware of the problem. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said last year that it has received at least 4,000 complaints from 43 states related to the building materials.

Rigell's bill would urge the secretary of State to insist China's government force Chinese manufacturers to comply with the U.S. court system. It would also ban the drywall by declaring it a hazardous product under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

Further, it would require the CPSC to create standards to test suspected drywall and develop regulations for the proper disposal of contaminated product.

Rigell's bill has always had bipartisan support, including from Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Endangered fish programs, water rights bills also pass

The House unanimously approved a bill to reauthorize funding for programs recovering four endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Basin.

Two programs have been working for over 20 years to restore populations of the Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail by 2023. H.R. 6060 would reauthorize $6 million (adjusted for inflation) from power revenues for the programs through 2019.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who introduced the legislation, kept his comments on the House floor brief.

"This is a good bill. It's got a great sponsor. Everyone should vote for it," he said.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) noted that his side of the aisle disagreed with Republican rules to limit funding for programs to seven years and is committed the full life of the fish recovery effort, which is applauded for leading to many water projects' compliance with the Endangered Species Act.

The House also passed by voice vote H.R. 1461, to authorize the Mescalero Apache Tribe to lease adjudicated water rights.

A proposal to establish a historic park commemorating the Manhattan Project was pulled from yesterday's docket. H.R. 5987, introduced by House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), would establish a park at three locations important in the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s.