“I’ve been involved in politics and government for 20 years, and I can’t think of a more frustrating issue that I’ve been involved with than this issue with drywall,” Senator Warner said at a Senate hearing on contaminated drywall this morning.

Senator Warner, with Florida Senator Bill Nelson, whose state has also been affected by the tainted drywall, had called for the hearing today before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance.

In December 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission first received complaints from homeowners about corrosion of metal items within the home, noxious odors and short-term adverse health effects related to the presence of imported drywall. The tainted drywall has forced people to move out of their homes, created health problems, and in some situations, even caused homeowners to lose their jobs.

“I found that in Hampton Roads, a number of people work for the military, and they were potentially not only going to have the health care loss and the housing loss, they could also lose their secret clearance and then lose their jobs,” Senator Warner said at the hearing.

Senator Warner and staff have worked closely for over two years with about 90 affected Virginia families. The Senator has worked with mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and the IRS to provide some short-term financial relief for affected families. As early as October 2009, Senator Warner accompanied CPSC Chair Inez Tenenebaum to Hampton Roads to speak with families and tour several homes affected by drywall issues.

Not all of today’s news on drywall is bad, however: Bill Shelton, Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, testified at the hearing that Virginia has moved forward on to try to help affected homeowners.

“Using the recommendations and interim guidance of the CPSC, the National Homebuilders Assocation, and others, we have come forward with a potential remediation,” he said. “Effective this August, we adopted a remediation standard for Virginia that is built into our building code.”

Continue following our blog for more news about contaminated drywall in Virginia.