Rashida Tlaib: “During my time in Congress, I have made it my mission to put into policy what we all should know to be true: That safe…”

“During my time in Congress, I have made it my mission to put into policy what we all should know to be true: That safe, clean water is a human right; that water is life. This bill includes critical water provisions that will provide clean, affordable drinking water. Over 60 schools in one of my cities alone has garbage bags over their drinking fountains. So we must invest in lead pipe and school drinking fountain replacement so that no child has to drink poisoned water. This bill gets us closer to that. We invest in water debt relief and low-income assistance so that nobody has to suffer the indignity of having their water shut off and having to rely on bottled water or collecting rainwater. A couple in my district, Mr. Speaker, had to melt snow just to flush their toilets. Millions of Americans have experienced inhumane water shutoffs, but this bill declares that nobody, especially our poor neighbors, should live without water in our country. We will stop water shutoffs. And my amendment helps families to make it clear that everyone receiving assistance must be reconnected and stays connected. Again, we are getting closer to the root causes of shutoffs because in this bill we include reporting and data collection that is so critically important to understand why water is becoming unaffordable and inaccessible. Again, it is important at all levels of government that we continue to work together in truly making water a human right.”