Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, what happened in Flint, MI, is incredible. In the 21st century, in the most developed country on Earth, to think that 100,000 people were exposed to contaminated water, to think that 9,000 or 10,000 children were exposed to lead poisoning--it was not a natural disaster but the results are disastrous. It was a disaster created by those who were in charge of managing the city of Flint.
The governmental agencies and those who worked for them made what they considered to be the right budgetary decisions, but they certainly made the wrong decisions when it came to the health and the well-being of the poor people who were victimized by their wrongdoing. Every time I hear the story, the same question comes to my mind: Who is going to jail for poisoning 9,000 children? Think about the circumstances here. A knowing decision by a city manager to switch to a water supply which was contaminated endangered the health of thousands of children, tens of thousands of citizens. If that is not the grounds for at least investigation, I don't what is.
So the Senators from Michigan, Senator Peters, Senator Stabenow, have come to the floor of the Senate and said to America: Will you help Flint, MI? It is right that they do so. I have been fortunate to serve in the House and Senate for many years. I cannot tell you how many times Senators from States all across the Nation have asked that same question: Will you help us in Louisiana? Will you help us in Alabama? Will you help us in Texas?
There is hardly a State that has not come to the floor of the Senate asking for help. Yet, for reasons I cannot explain, the Republican majority in the Senate is resisting this idea. Almost 100,000 people were forced to live without access to clean water in their homes. They could not turn on their faucets in the morning to make breakfast or to take a shower, as all of us do. They started their day by waiting in long lines for bottled water to feed and bathe their kids, to take showers, and to stay healthy. They started rationing the water.
The elderly and disabled who could not make it to a pickup location for bottled water, they were left with the option of continuing to use water they know was poisoning their bodies. This is a disaster by any definition. I cannot understand why there is not more understanding and empathy from my colleagues when it comes to Flint, MI. It could happen anywhere. If it happened, would you hesitate for a moment as a Member of the Senate to ask for help?
Nine thousand children exposed to lead poisoning has been called an earmark by the critics of our Senators from Michigan. They said it is just special interest legislation to try to help these victims. That is hard to imagine, that it could reach that level in criticizing this effort. Just like those who suffered from tornadoes and hurricanes, these families did nothing to deserve it. Just as the Federal Government always helps when Americans are hit by disasters, we should do it in Flint.
There were no complaints last May when the Federal Government declared an emergency and reached out to the residents of Texas to help them rebuild their lives after a tornado hit. So I am wondering if the Republican Presidential candidate from Texas is willing to step up, the junior Senator from Texas, and ask for the same level of Federal assistance for Flint, MI, that he asked for his own State.
This crisis is not the fault of the kids, the pregnant women who still call Flint home. Their only crime was living in a city that was so poorly mismanaged by the Michigan State government. Their only crime, if there was one, was being the victims of cheap, dirty water. These kids and pregnant women are the most vulnerable when it comes to lead contamination. We are not going to know for years the extent of the damage, but we know there will be damage.
Many of them live in homes that have been found to have 10 times the EPA limits for lead in drinking water. The Senator from Michigan, Ms. Stabenow, yesterday told us that some of the lead samples reached the level of toxic dumps, so far beyond the level that is acceptable for human consumption. This means a generation of Flint kids are in danger of suffering brain damage, developmental delays, and behavior issues for the rest of their lives.
To add insult to injuries, when mothers came to the State nurse to fight for their children, they were met with apathy. Listen to what they were told:
It's just a few IQ points. . . . It's not the end of the world.
This is supposedly a quote from a State nurse. The Flint water crisis truly is a tragedy. We need to step forward. It does not just mean funding. It reminds us of the importance of clean drinking water that we all take for granted. When I think of all of the efforts on the floor of the Senate to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency and to remove their authority to deal with issues involving clean water, it is hard to imagine that they could envision what happened in Flint, because having access to clean water should not be determined by your ZIP Code or your government. I hope my Republican colleagues will work with us on a bipartisan basis, the way we always do it when it comes to disasters that hurt innocent people.
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