Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to oppose the upcoming cloture vote on the Energy Policy Modernization Act. This is not because I think this is a bad bill. In fact, I know this bill is the result of months of hard work on both sides of the aisle, and it contains many provisions that will move our economy forward.

I appreciate the efforts of Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell, including their willingness to include bipartisan legislation that I offered with Senators Alexander and Stabenow to support the development of next-generation clean vehicle technologies. While I sincerely hope that we are able to advance this bill out of the Senate, it is simply too soon to cut off debate and invoke cloture.

Senator Stabenow, Senator Cantwell, and I have been negotiating with our Republican colleagues to secure critical assistance for the city of Flint, MI, whose residents are continuing to suffer from a manmade disaster. Nearly 2 years ago, an unelected emergency manager appointed by Michigan's Governor changed the city of Flint's water to a source of the Flint River in an attempt to save money while the city prepared to transition to a new regional water authority.

After switching away from clean water sourced from the Detroit water department, Flint residents began to receive improperly treated Flint River water, long known to be contaminated and potentially very corrosive. Brown or yellow water poured from Flint faucets that tasted and smelled terrible. This water wasn't just disgusting, it turned out to be poisonous. This corrosive water leached lead from aging but previously stable infrastructure.

A generation of children in Flint are now at risk for the severe effects of lead exposure, which can cause long-term development problems, nervous system damage, and decreased bone and muscle growth. Even though Flint is no longer pulling its water from the contaminated river and is back to drawing safe Lake Huron water, the recently damaged pipes and infrastructure contaminate the water before it pours from the tap.

Flint residents are unable to use their showers and need to wash themselves with baby wipes. Some walk as far as 2 miles to pick up bottled water to drink--the same bottled water they use to cook and to brush their teeth. This is simply not sustainable.

Flint needs the support of all levels of government to overhaul its damaged water infrastructure and help the children of Flint, who will be dealing with the health effects of lead exposure for decades to come.

What makes America so exceptional is its resiliency and the unity of our people in the face of a tragedy or a crisis. While Flint has faced decades of economic hardship, it is now facing a full-blown crisis, and now is the time for all of us to pull together.

On Monday, I heard from a woman who was on the verge of tears as she discussed her fears of the health conditions that her children face.

Yesterday I met another mom from Flint who brought a baby bottle filled with brown water that she poured from her tap--and brought it to Washington--to show my colleagues and Congress just how immediate a public health threat this public crisis is. This image that appeared on the cover of Time magazine is clearly a haunting cry for help.

I ask my colleagues to look into those eyes and to hear that cry, to see that cry for help. I believe that if any of my colleagues saw this tragedy such as we are seeing in our home State--Senator Stabenow and I--they would be standing here doing everything in their power to deliver assistance. Whether the crisis is natural or manmade, it simply doesn't matter. This is a crisis.

It is also important to know that this crisis has raised questions about the safety of our Nation's infrastructure. It is possible that other communities could be affected.

While other communities may not suffer a crisis like Flint, across the country communities are learning about the vulnerabilities of their own water supply and what may happen in the future.

I should also reiterate that the proposal Senator Stabenow and I have been negotiating would provide funding for any State that has had an emergency declaration related to lead or other contamination in public drinking water systems. So it is not just about Flint. This is about any community that is suffering from contamination of their drinking water.

While we often talk about crumbling roads or bridges, hundreds, if not thousands of American cities, towns, and villages have aging water infrastructure and lead pipes.

Should one of our colleague's communities experience a similar crisis in in the coming months, this funding we are fighting for today will be available to them as well.

Now is the time for action and to help the families of Flint. I hope that we can reach a resolution on our negotiations with our Republican colleagues, but we are not quite there yet. I urge all of my colleagues to oppose cloture on this bill until we have a deal.

Whether in Flint or elsewhere in America, we have a responsibility to care for our children. We must repair the trust Flint residents have lost in the ability of government officials to protect them and provide the most basic of all services.

I strongly urge my colleagues to join us in our efforts to help Flint recover from this unnecessary, manmade disaster.

Standing up for the children of this country is not a Republican or a Democratic issue, and I hope that today we show the American people that we can come together at times of crisis. This is common ground on which we can stand together and stand up for the people and children of Flint.

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