WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens Introduces The Plastic Health Research Act

August 8, 2025
Press Release
Bipartisan legislation turns concern into action, funding groundbreaking research on microplastics and human health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens introduced the bipartisan Plastic Health Research Act which would jumpstart national research into effects of plastic exposure on human health.

Here’s what Michiganders are hearing about the bill: 

WZZM 13 Online: MI Rep.'s new legislation aims to tackle plastic pollution's health impact

Grand Rapids, MI

  • Health hazards in Michigan's waterways have long been a top concern for its people, given the state's stewardship of a vast amount of the world's freshwater supply.

  • “The fact is that there are 22 million pounds of trash that are pulled out of the Great Lakes every year," nature conservation educator Jessica Gregory told 13 ON YOUR SIDE back in 2021.

  • "We find these microplastics essentially everywhere in the environment," said Stuart Jones, who works as the executive director of Grand Valley State University's Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon. "We know that we find them in our own bodies, but this the big unknown is, 'What are the implications of that?'"

  • Now, a member of Michigan's congressional delegation is aiming to tackle it.

  • Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) is set to introduce a bill in Congress this week aimed at helping to fund and facilitate research on how plastic exposure impacts health.

  • "It's time, particularly as it pertains to plastics and public health, that we move past alarming headlines and actually get access to data," Stevens told 13 ON YOUR SIDE.

  • "This I just kept seeing in terms of plastic health coming up again and again and not enough backing for research," she said. "I've talked to researchers at our National Institute[s] of Health. They helped me weigh in on this legislation, private sector partners who are actually in the chemical manufacturing process, but also want to see fair studies get done, alongside environmental groups and our universities."

  • According to the bill's language, grants could be awarded to "public entities, nonprofit entities, academic research institutions, or consortia of such entities" that apply for them.

  • These centers would be tasked with work to "conduct and improve the quality of scientific research to inform public health determinations and increase public awareness (where scientifically warranted) with respect to the potential health effects caused by plastic exposure.

  • "Our environmental groups certainly have goals that oftentimes are not too different than our universities and our government actors, and certainly even where the private sector is," she said. "We all want the best health outcomes."

  • She's hoping that its bipartisan support - including from Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma), whom her office said would introduce the bill alongside her - will broaden its appeal and protect its mission.

  • "I want to see this legislation get done," she said. "I know this is going to be important for our country. Just look at who's endorsing it. Look at the fact that it's bipartisan and a step in the right direction for us." 

WILX: Bill to Address Microplastics

Lansing, MI

  • Meanwhile, at the U.S. Capitol there's a new bill that aims to research the effects of microplastics on our bodies. 

  •  Democratic U.S. Representative from Michigan, Haley Stevens introduced the bill alongside a Republican from Oklahoma. 

  • The bipartisan Plastic Health Research Act aims to determine the exact impact of microplastics on human health, especially from the country's Great Lakes and oceans.

  • The bill will now make its way to committee hearings.

WNEM: Bill to Close Knowledge Gaps From Plastics

Flint, MI

  • Democratic U.S. Representative from Michigan Haley Stevens introduced the bipartisan Plastic Health Research Act

  • The legislation aims to determine the exact impact of microplastics on human health especially from the country's Great Lakes and oceans 

WZZM: Health Impacts of Plastics in Water Supply

Grand Rapids, MI 

  • Congresswoman Haley Stevens this week introducing what's been named the Plastic Health Research Act

  • “It's time, particularly as it pertains to plastics and public health that we move past alarming headlines and actually get access to data.” 

  • “I just kept seeing in terms of plastic health coming up again and again and not enough backing for research.”  

  • If passed, the bill would put $10 million each year between 2026 and 2030 toward research programs and grants to study how plastic exposure impacts our health.

  • “I don't want to do good policymaking without good data and that's why we need to reject dogmatism and really search for and identify the science” 

  • Somewhere where there's little knowledge but that could help to find a solution.

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Issues: Health