[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 53 (Monday, March 24, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WATER RATE INCREASE

  (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, water is a human right. We can't live without 
it, but far too often our government treats it as just another product 
to be sold.
  In Michigan, the Great Lakes Water Authority voted to increase water 
rates by 5.9 percent and sewage rates by 4.5 percent. They approved 
these unaffordable increases despite unanimous and passionate public 
opposition, Mr. Speaker.
  I want folks to imagine how it feels for many of our residents in 
Detroit who have been living out of hotels for weeks after a massive 
water main break flooded their neighborhood, their homes, and even 
their vehicles. Now they are going to have to be paying more for their 
water.
  The Trump administration is already slashing every critical support 
program that the most vulnerable in our communities, especially our 
seniors, rely on to pay their bills. This will mean more water shutoffs 
and more stories of families melting snow and harvesting rainwater to 
shower and cook with.
  Our policy has to meet our principles. Water must be a human right in 
the United States of America.

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