WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Al Franken on Wednesday helped introduce a package of legislation to address a national public water crisis that was brought to light after a state of emergency was declared earlier this year in Flint, Mich., over dangerous levels of lead found in drinking water.
After the spotlight was put on Flint, concerned communities across the country discovered similar issues in their own water systems. The True LEADership Act, introduced Wednesday, includes several measures to help those communities: strong funding to replace dangerous pipes, new rules to improve lead reporting and testing, tax credits for families who fix lead problems in their own homes and new investments in innovative water safety technologies, a news release said.
The proposal also includes a key provision supported strongly by Franken that would require the use of American-made iron and steel when pipes in our public water systems have to be replaced. This measure would ensure that regions like the Iron Range in northern Minnesota would be responsible for producing the materials to fight this crisis, the release said.
"What happened in Flint has brought awareness to a serious national drinking water crisis," Franken said. "Minnesota has already done a lot of work to keep its water clean. But lead is still present in many water systems across the country, and as a result, children and families are being put at risk. This package of bills would provide new resources to help communities and states replace lead pipes, and it includes a provision I supported to use only American steel for these projects. We need to get this bill passed into law as soon as we can, because the cost of inaction is far too high."
