On the recordSeptember 10, 2019
I rise to speak today on S. 1689, which passed last night. Yesterday, this body unanimously voted to pass my legislation that could give States greater flexibility in how they use Federal funding for water projects. This bill is a tool to help communities in New Jersey and other States remove lead from their drinking water. We have a national crisis. It is a crisis we are seeing all over the country. I first wrote this legislation after a study was released last year that found lead leaching into the drinking water of my home city, Newark, NJ. Since then, I have been trying to get our State the Federal resources it needs to upgrade our aging water infrastructure. After it wasn't included in last year's end-of-the-year spending bill, I introduced it as a stand-alone bill and pushed its passage through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, with bipartisan support, earlier this summer. While the bill has been waiting to pass here in the Senate, the residents of my city, my neighbors, my family, and others have had to deal with additional concerns of exposure to lead in our drinking water. Local, State, and Federal officials have been working almost literally around the clock to bring residents answers they deserve, answers they demand. I have repeatedly pushed the Federal Government, and the EPA in particular, to provide more resources to Newark in every way I can. I have been making calls and writing letters, hosting meetings.…
