Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. Pesident, I wish to thank Senator Stabenow for her leadership on this issue and I share her frustration. We have been together, standing up, fighting to bring resources to Flint to deal with this absolutely catastrophic situation in Flint, MI. We have reached out to our Republican colleagues. We have had some very positive conversations, but as we have those positive conversations, as the Senator said in her comments, it seems as if it unravels right when we are very close to making it a reality. As a new Member of this body, I am completely at a loss for understanding why that is. Why is it that Members of the Senate can't step up for all Americans who are suffering?

As you mentioned in the disaster fund, we have a disaster fund that is designed specifically for events like we have seen in Flint. You mentioned the West Texas explosion. We have had water main breaks in Massachusetts, a Caribbean oil corporation refinery explosion in Puerto Rico, a bridge collapse in Minneapolis, a chemical spill in West Virginia. The list goes on and on. When we have had some sort of tragedy around this country, the U.S. Senate steps up and says: We are compassionate. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This is about the American people.
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Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, we need to do that as well. We have pay- fors for the disaster fund. We identified and came forward with a pay- for that would end a tax loophole--a tax benefit--for golf courses where wealthy individuals can give an easement to a golf course and donate land. If we eliminate that--in fact, some Republicans have argued for the very elimination of this tax deduction--it will help to pay for the infrastructure and it will help to pay for the children of Flint.

I know some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to protect those wealthy donors and their golf courses, but I believe the children of Flint are more important. I believe the people of Flint are more important. The fact that they have been poisoned by lead-- something that creates irreparable damage to their brains--is something that will impact their lives forever.

How can you look into the face of the children of Flint knowing they have this brain damage as a result of this catastrophic situation and yet say no to a disaster fund to pay for it, say no to closing a tax break for wealthy folks who are giving land to golf courses? How can you put golf course easements ahead of the children of Flint? We need to stand up as a body and understand that this is a crisis of unimaginable proportions, and we can do better. The United States can do better. The Congress can do better.

The fact that we are not coming together to do this is why people have such disdain for this body--the Senate and the House--because they think that in times of crisis, we pick and choose whom we help. Let's not pick and choose whom we help. Let's help everybody. Let's help the people of Flint. Let's help the children of Flint and show that we are a compassionate country and that we do not pick and choose. Everybody should get our support.

I hope we can come together and compromise. We need to take some of these pay-fors and do what is necessary to address this issue.

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