House Passes Massive Infrastructure Bill to Benefit Drinking Water, Great Lakes

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (July 1, 2020)—The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act, which would authorize over $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure spending. The bill, H.R. 2, includes $40 billion over five years for sewage infrastructure and boosts Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to $475 million annually. It also devotes more than $1 billion over five years to help public utilities deal with toxic PFAS contamination. And it devotes more than $22 billion over five years to replace lead pipes into people’s homes. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition supports the bill.“We thank the members of the House of Representatives that voted for the Moving Forward Act, which will benefit communities, public health, and the Great Lakes,” said Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition Director Laura Rubin.  “The need for this investment in our nation’s infrastructure is undeniable and urgent. The federal government’s decades-long disinvestment in water infrastructure has led to a staggering $188 billion backlog in work in the Great Lakes region, public health crisis due to lead contamination and other pollutants in drinking water, and skyrocketing water rates that are leaving many people with unaffordable water bills. These new investments will go a long way in improving access and affordability to the basic need of clean drinking water. We look forward to working with bipartisan members of the Senate to pass and fund this legislation.”U.S. Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were responsible for inserting into the bill the amendment authorizing $4.5 billion per year ($22.5 billion over five years) to replace dangerous lead pipes to protect people from lead poisoning.