Senate passes bill to help fix Flint water infrastructure

WASHINGTON D.C. — By a vote of 95 to 3, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would send $100 million dollars to Flint to help the city fix its water infrastructure.

The Water Resources Development Act would activate one billion dollars in low–interest loans to communities across the country that need to upgrade their water systems. The bill also includes a provision that would forgive twenty million dollars in loans the City of Flint owes to the state.

Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters both urged the House of Representatives to pass this bill as quickly as possible.

“Every single day counts for the people of Flint,” said Stabenow. “We want to get this done before Congress breaks for the election. That’s what we’re aiming for and pushing very hard for the House to do,” Stabenow added.

“This is a significant amount of money– $100 million dollars. It still will fall short of what people are estimating it will cost to fix the system,” said Peters. “That’s where the State of Michigan has to step up. It is absolutely incumbent that Gov. Snyder and the state legislature follow the lead of what we have seen in the United States Senate.”

According to Stabenow, the U.S. House could vote on the bill as soon as next week.