Rashida Tlaib: “Just over 3 weeks ago, the city of Detroit's water shutoff moratorium ended, terminating vital protection for Detroit's…”

“Just over 3 weeks ago, the city of Detroit's water shutoff moratorium ended, terminating vital protection for Detroit's most vulnerable residents. We only got the lifesaving moratorium in the first place thanks to years of determined organizing and advocacy from our community's water warriors. Many are the mothers of our neighborhoods. In response to that organizing and advocacy, the city has now created an affordability plan, but many of the mothers in our community and advocates continue to highlight shortcomings and a lack of awareness amongst struggling Detroiters of the resources available, which leaves thousands still in jeopardy of shutoffs. For many Americans, water shutoffs are only the beginning. Even after they pay off outstanding debt or arrange for payment plans, reconnection fees further penalize them. We need to move beyond treating missed payments as a moral failing and acknowledge the reality of families struggling as they try to make ends meet. The cost of water in our country has gone up 400 percent. In the wealthiest Nation on Earth, there should not be a single family without water. We have had enough of punishing people for being poor. It is time to take our public health seriously and guarantee water as a human right. We all know water is life. It is time we start treating it as such. In Solidarity with Iranian Protesters”