[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 188 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H7330-H7331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             AUTO INSURANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Tlaib) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, my residents still pay the highest auto 
insurance rates in the Nation. Auto insurance discrimination continues 
to keep our residents in the cycle of poverty.
  I want to ask the American people and the auto insurance industry: 
What does your education level, your marital status, your occupation, 
your employment status, your credit score, your ZIP Code, or your 
homeownership status have to do with whether or not you are a good 
driver?
  Right now, the auto insurance industry is determining rates based on 
these nondriving factors, so I introduced the Prohibit Auto Insurance 
Discrimination Act with my good colleague Representative Watson 
Coleman. One of the factors, again, to determine driving ability should 
not be these nondriving factors, yet my residents still see and face 
higher insurance rates.
  University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions did a study showing 
somebody with a DUI, driving under the influence, was paying three 
times less than the person with no DUI violation. The difference was 
the person with the DUI had a higher credit score than the person that 
had a better driving record. Again, these factors should not be 
determining people's auto insurance rates.
  Again, that is why it is important for us to be able to support the 
PAID Act to prohibit auto insurance discrimination. My colleagues must 
join me in passing this important critical bill to address these 
shameless practices by the auto insurance industry.


                        Social Security Is Vital

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, Social Security is a vital part of our social 
safety net in our country. It keeps more people out of poverty than any 
other governmental program, nearly 23 million people.
  I wasn't surprised when the number one question and concern that was 
brought up in our telephone townhall throughout the district--over 
9,000 people participated--was what is going to happen to Social 
Security. For most seniors, Social Security is their largest source of 
income.
  Cutting Social Security would be a disastrous policy choice for our 
communities, and it would absolutely be a choice that is decided here, 
not a necessity.
  We should be strengthening and expanding Social Security, not cutting 
it.
  That is why I support the Social Security Expansion Act. It is very 
critical because it would increase benefits by $2,400 annually and 
ensure that program is funded for the next 75 years.
  We must protect Social Security. Every senior in our country deserves 
to retire with dignity, and every person living with a disability 
deserves to live with economic security. I won't let them cut Social 
Security on my watch.


                             Water Is Life

  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, we all know that water is life. Safe, 
accessible, affordable drinking water is a human right.
  In 2021, I was proud to be able to work with the Energy and Commerce 
Committee and Congresswoman Dingell to establish the Low Income 
Household Water Assistance Program where we helped establish a $1.2 
billion program to help many of our families pay off their water bills 
and debts and keep people's water connected, especially during the 
pandemic.
  This program saved countless lives. Millions of Americans today are 
still struggling to keep up with their water bills and many have their 
water shut off.
  We introduced the Half-Century Update for Water Access and 
Affordability Act to establish a permanent low-income drinking water 
assistance program within the EPA. Our program will dedicate funding 
every single year to keep people's water flowing. We do it for gas. We 
do it for electricity. Why don't we do it for water? The program will 
include reconnection assistance, but what I also love, it will help 
with water efficiency upgrades like plumbing repairs to many of our 
families that live in old homes.
  We are going to set up a community advisory committee made up of 
residents, nonprofits, utilities, and other local stakeholders to help 
advise the EPA how to implement this program more effectively.
  Mr. Speaker, the H2O UP Act will ban the practice of water shutoffs 
as punishment for not being able to afford your bills. This is the 
richest country in the world, and we know it is just

[[Page H7331]]

simply inhumane to have many of our families not have access to water.
  Watching a couple in their seventies in the city of Detroit after 
working all their lives retire to have to melt snow in a white bucket 
so they can flush their toilet is inhumane. Again, it is inhumane for 
us not to have a program to help people with their water bills.
  Congress just approved nearly a trillion dollars for weapons in war. 
Please, for all of my colleagues, I don't want to hear that we don't 
have the money to help our families here at home. We must again ensure 
access to water. It is critical for public health. It is critical for 
our families.

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