Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise for the purpose of engaging Chairman Shuster in a colloquy with respect to the Kildee-Moolenaar amendment that the House will consider shortly. First, I thank him for his efforts, and for the efforts of Ranking Member DeFazio, as well as Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, and Mr. Hoyer, who late in the evening yesterday worked to reach an agreement on this amendment.

The amendment authorizes $170 million for the Corps of Engineers to replace public and private infrastructure in communities such as my hometown of Flint that have received an emergency declaration due to lead contamination in their drinking water. My constituents have been waiting for the help they need for more than a year since they were told their drinking water was poisoned. This is a very important step toward getting them the help they deserve and putting this aid on the President's desk.

As the chairman knows, the Senate has passed $220 million to assist communities like Flint with lead issues in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 95-3. That package includes funding for water infrastructure replacement and for programs to help address the impacts of lead exposure on children and pregnant women nationwide. It also creates a Federal advisory committee to study the effects of lead exposure on communities, and it suggests ways to reduce it.

To my friend, Mr. Shuster, do I have your commitment to bridge the gap between my amendment and the Senate package so that the final bill we send to the President provides the much-needed relief to my constituents and the families of Flint?

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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is something, obviously, I have been working on for some time. It would bring urgently needed aid to my hometown of Flint, Michigan.

For over a year, the Flint water crisis has been public, and we have not yet been able to act here in Congress. It has been even longer since the residents of Flint have been drinking or using water that is basically poisoned with lead--2 full years.

To be clear, what happened in Flint was a failure of government at every level of government. Through this amendment, Congress can take its rightful place in fulfilling its obligation and its responsibility to help my hometown recover.

The amendment would authorize $170 million to restore the safety of water infrastructure in communities like my hometown of Flint that have lead in their water. More importantly, it would create a concrete commitment from both bodies of Congress to get aid for my hometown to the President's desk.

The Senate passed similar legislation by a vote of 95-3. This amendment would ensure that the House also supports communities like Flint that are suffering with this terrible problem.

We have just waited an awful long time for this. We have worked very hard to get this amendment in a bipartisan fashion to the floor. I want to thank all my friends, but particularly Mr. Moolenaar, who cosponsors this amendment with me.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just want to say how much I appreciate the efforts on behalf of my home community by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. As you have heard, Congressman Moolenaar, my neighbor, has been there right along.

Congresswoman Miller stepped up immediately after this crisis became known and articulated a need for Federal intervention very early in the process. Mr. Huizenga obviously has been there, with roots in Flint, and has come to my community.

There is not much more I can say about what Mr. Upton has been willing to do, working with me initially on legislation to reform the EPA's obligations regarding notification and now, of course, working with us to get this amendment before the House of Representatives.

It broke my heart when this whole episode began, to see my own hometown, the place that has given me virtually everything that I have, go through the worst crisis that it could ever even imagine, a crisis that was a threat to its very existence. So I am grateful for the help of Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, again, I thank my colleagues. I hope and pray that I have strong bipartisan support for this effort. It has surely been demonstrated by my friends who have spoken.

This is one of those issues that should and ought to transcend some of the divisions that often occupy this House. It is a matter simply of doing what is right for the people of my hometown and the people of this country, and it means a lot to me that so many have stood with me in this time. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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