On the recordFebruary 4, 2016
I see that the distinguished Senator from Alaska has come to the floor as the manager of the bill. I have a statement I wish to give, but I didn't know if she needed to say something. Mr. President, I rise today to add my heartfelt and impassioned voice to call for action to help the people who live in Flint, MI, with this emergency situation. We have to be in it to deal with the emergency today and the long haul for tomorrow. This is of catastrophic, almost Armageddon, proportion. An American city has been poisoned because of a situation that has been self- induced and self-inflicted. What is happening in Flint, MI, is appalling. It is a tragedy, it is a disgrace, and it will be for a long time. We need to fix the pipes right away, but the fixing of human beings is going to take a long, long time. Let's get real. We are now bogged down in parliamentary inertia. We are now bogged down in Washington wonky budgetary talk: Where are the offsets? What is this? What is this? Are we human beings? We take an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, but sometimes an enemy is a tragedy. It can come from--God knows--a hurricane or tornado, and we rush in to help. If this had been a terrorist attack, oh, my gosh, we would be willing to go to war to defend America. Well, we need to go to the edge of our chair to help Flint. My gosh. The Senators from Michigan are looking for $400 million.…





