Reed Helps Bridge Partisan Divide to Aid Flint & Aging State Water Systems
Press Release
The effort to provide much needed aid to replace the aging water infrastructure in Flint, Michigan and other communities with drinking water emergencies is finally gaining bipartisan momentum. A key obstruction to the bipartisan Drinking Water Safety and Infrastructure Act was removed last night when one U.S. Senator lifted a hold. The bill contains several key provisions championed by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to reinforce effective lead poisoning prevention programs and protect children's health. The legislation is coauthored by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and cosponsored by Senator Reed, as well as U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rob Portman (R-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mark Kirk (R-IL). The bipartisan group of senators hope their coalition can now move the long-stalled effort to address the Flint water crisis forward.
"This is an important bipartisan agreement to help Flint with its water crisis and boost funding for lead poisoning prevention programs nationwide, but our work is not finished. Millions of Americans, including a staggering number of children and families right here in Rhode Island, remain at risk to lead exposure. We must be proactive and continue to invest in the health and development of our communities," said Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Under the new bipartisan agreement -- worth up to $220 million in total -- the federal Drinking Water State Revolving Fund would be authorized to distribute an additional $100 million in subsidized loans or grants between now and October 2017 "to any state that receives an emergency declaration to a public health threat from lead or other contaminants in a public drinking water system."
The Drinking Water Safety and Infrastructure Act also provides $70 million in subsidies which could be used to create a pool of $700 million in low-interest financing for water infrastructure projects through a newly created fund.
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