On the recordFebruary 2, 2016
I am on the floor to talk about a situation that is occurring in my home State with a leak--a natural gas leak that is creating havoc in one of my communities. But before I do, I wish to comment on the issue that my Democratic leader talked about, which is the poisoning of children in Flint, MI, due to lead in the drinking water. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but I believe that when you hurt a child, that is the lowest thing you can do. There is nothing lower in life than hurting an innocent child. That means if you abuse a child, if you taunt a child--but when you poison a child and their brain is damaged for the rest of their life--that is the lowest thing an adult can do. Any adult who knew that these children were being poisoned and looked the other way, in my view, is liable. You don't hurt a child. You don't hurt a child--let alone for life--and destroy their mind. I know that Senators Stabenow and Peters are working hard with the Republicans to come up with something to help the people there, and I hope that it will work out. I know that in my committee on the environment we have been working with them, along with Senator Inhofe, so we can do something. But it is after the fact. It is not as if you can make this damage go away.…
