Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, voted for the National Defense Authorization Act, while Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam, voted against on Dec. 11. The bill passed 377-to-48. Both Delgado and Tonko were on the conference tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA and complained about the lack of transparency in the discussions, writing an op-Ed in the Times Union. They both were stymied in attempts to add additional provisions addressing PFAS contamination. “While the process to get here is far from what I would have hoped, I welcome the inclusion of my PFAS Right-to-Know Act to finally require polluters to report to the EPA and reveal where this contamination exists. This is an important step to help our communities, and shows that had this been a more transparent process, we could have included additional measures.” Tonko explained his no vote: "I am disappointed that the NDAA is not addressing PFAS pollutants with the urgency needed to safeguard our communities and the American people,” Tonko said. “For years, these ‘forever chemicals’ have been entering our air and water, putting countless families at risk of exposure to these dangerous and potentially deadly pollutants. Democrats in the House have long pushed for Congress to take the necessary steps to protect our drinking water systems and work to restore the many towns, cities and military bases that have already been contaminated."