[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 140 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5835-S5836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  WRDA

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise to applaud the Senate for passing 
earlier today the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, better known 
as WRDA. It is important to pause for a moment and appreciate the fact 
that we were able to come together in such a bipartisan way on such an 
important and substantive matter. Today, WRDA passed by an overwhelming 
majority of 95 to 3.
  Today we took a critical step toward making real investments in our 
Nation's waterways, ports, harbors, ecosystems, and the infrastructure 
we rely on for our drinking water. We also made a statement that when a 
group of people are suffering, our country must pull together to help.
  Delivering assistance to Flint, MI, and other communities suffering 
from poor drinking water quality is, frankly, quite overdue. We should 
have provided funding to fix Flint's water infrastructure long ago, but 
today we have taken a meaningful step toward the future, where the 
people of Flint, as well as communities all across America, can turn on 
their taps and trust that it is safe to use the water that comes out of 
them.
  We cannot forget that right now the people of Flint are still living 
in this crisis. People are still depending on bottled water and filters 
for everyday water needs. The health effects will last for decades to 
come.
  Over the past year, I have regularly heard from Flint families about 
their ongoing struggles. Just this week, I heard from Flint residents 
who came to Washington. They came to share their stories and to keep up 
the fight for the Federal support their community needs. These 
Americans continue to endure unimaginable circumstances with both grace 
and dignity.
  The breadth and severity of the hardships these families have faced 
are breathtaking, but I continue to hear news stories that would shock 
all of us in this Chamber and push Congress to finish our work to get 
this package signed into law.
  This week I heard from one Flint mother who told me a story about her 
10-year-old daughter with aching bones and teeth. Lead and calcium 
compete for the same locations in the body and are stored in bone 
tissue. This is one of the many reasons lead exposure is especially 
devastating to growing children.
  Try to imagine the horror of seeing your daughter's teeth crumble 
while biting into a sandwich. This is what the people of Flint are 
living with. The girl's blood lead levels, even recently, were up and 
down, and she takes large supplements to improve her bone strength. As 
these Flint residents continue to tell their stories, we must not let 
their reality fade from the minds of this Nation. As a nation, we can 
do better than this. We must take care of our own.
  As we pause to recognize the weight of our actions today, we must 
recognize and remember the people who have been fighting for a very 
long time.
  I would like to recognize Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Dr. Marc Edwards, 
and Miguel Del Toral for their tireless work to identify and shine a 
light on the crisis of Flint last year, as well as for all of their 
advocacy and work since then.
  I would also like to recognize the grassroots leaders in Flint who 
realized there was a serious problem way before anyone else. LeeAnne 
Walters, Melissa Mays, the Concerned Pastors of Flint, and many others. 
Despite being repeatedly dismissed and ignored, they kept talking and 
marching and battling to let the world know about the injustice.
  Senator Stabenow and her team have worked tirelessly with us on this 
effort and to advance our package helping Flint and other countries 
across the country. She and I underwent weeks of negotiations to 
carefully craft a bipartisan agreement, and we have a number of 
Senators who were willing to work with us and truly wanted to find a 
solution.
  Senator Stabenow's staff, particularly Matt VanKuiken and Aaron 
Suntag, deserve a lot of credit for late nights drafting legislative 
language and making calls to negotiate a deal.
  Senators Inhofe and Boxer deserve special gratitude for their 
creative ideas and steadfast determination.
  I would also like to thank the Environment and Public Works Committee 
staff, including Alex Herrgott, Jason Albritton, Bettina Poirier, and 
Susan Bodine, among others. Your long hours and commitment were 
critical to the bill's passage.
  I should also recognize the cosponsors of our bipartisan legislation, 
including Senators Brown, Portman, Kirk, Reed, Burr, Durbin, Mikulski, 
Capito, and Baldwin.
  I would like to recognize Senators Murkowski and Cantwell and their 
staff who worked for weeks to help us find a path forward on a 
bipartisan energy bill. While this did not come to fruition, we kept 
working hard to find a path forward. We didn't let one roadblock stand 
in the way. We kept on fighting for Flint, just like the families in 
Flint keep on fighting.
  So while I am pleased the Senate finally passed this bipartisan, 
fully paid-for legislation to provide much needed support for Flint 
families, we now need to redouble our efforts to get it done and get it 
over the finish line.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass similar assistance 
to Flint and other communities across the country. This bill is the 
best way for us to help them make critical investments in their aging 
water infrastructure.
  I thank my colleague Congressman Kildee, who has been Flint's most 
steadfast champion in the U.S. House. He has worked with Senator 
Stabenow and me to secure Federal resources for Flint families, and I 
know he is working hard with his House colleagues to pass legislation 
to aid Flint.
  Local elected officials, such as State Senator Jim Ananich, State 
Representative Sheldon Neeley, and Mayor Karen Weaver continue to 
battle for their constituents, secure resources to fix problems, and 
shine a light on all of the many positive aspects of the city of Flint.

[[Page S5836]]

  I know other Members of the Michigan delegation and of other States 
are committed, but now is the time to step up to the plate and show 
that we will follow through on our responsibilities as representatives 
of the people.
  Finally, if we are to solve this crisis, the State of Michigan must 
step up with substantial long-term support for the people of Flint and 
help them fully recover in the years and decades ahead. This disaster 
happened on their watch, and it is an immense failure on the part of 
the State of Michigan to protect the health and safety of its city's 
residents.
  Despite the grim facts of this tragedy, some day in the future I hope 
we will look back at today and say it was a milestone and a turning 
point. I am optimistic that we will. This is not the end of our efforts 
for Flint. This is the beginning of making things right.
  We won't stop fighting for what is best for Flint families. I urge 
all of my colleagues to continue working to invest in critical water 
infrastructure so that we never, ever see a crisis like this again 
anywhere in our country.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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