John,

Shutting off water access during a pandemic is dangerous and unconscionable. If people don’t have clean running water, they can’t wash their hands, which is the most effective way to protect themselves and their communities from the deadly spread of COVID-19.

Here in Michigan, we just had an important victory: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order requiring a moratorium on water shut-offs and reconnecting water service for households whose water service has been shut off. 

Sign the petition now to thank Gov. Whitmer for stopping water shut-offs during the pandemic, and urge elected leaders across the country to follow her lead.

Without federal action, states like Michigan are taking the lead. But this problem goes beyond Michigan. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed and exacerbated our national crisis of water insecurity, where an estimated 15 million Americans—that’s 1 out of every 20 households—are going without running water, mainly because they can’t afford to pay for it. 

Shutting off water access during a pandemic is dangerous and unconscionable. That’s why my colleagues and I fought hard to include a ban on utility shut-offs in the U.S. House of Representatives’ latest COVID-19 stimulus package. 

We also allocated $1.5 billion to help pay low-income families’ water bills. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans blocked this in their version of the bill, which ultimately was signed into law.

So I joined Michigan members of Congress in leading over 80 U.S. representatives to push for an immediate nationwide ban on water shut-offs. We need to extend and expand on Michigan’s protections nationwide, and we need your help to show that the public demands this, too. 

Sign the petition now: Our national elected leaders must follow Michigan’s lead to not only stop water shut-offs, but also restore water access for everyone whose service has been cut off.

Here in Michigan, we understand that water is a basic human need and a right. 

2014’s mass water shut-offs in Detroit led to a global outcry, including the U.N. calling out human rights violations. Thousands of Detroiters are still without water, which is a public health crisis in itself: People need clean running water not only to drink and wash their hands, but also to cook food, bathe, flush toilets and more. 

For years, grassroots water rights groups have been fighting for water justice in Detroit, in Flint, and across the state. It is thanks to their important work that Michigan is now leading on water access during the pandemic. 

But due to supply hoarding, such groups haven’t been able to find even their usual allotments of bottled water to get to people who need it. So until water service is restored, governments must also open public water distribution stations, where people and community groups can pick up free water and deliver it to people who can’t pick it up themselves.

Sign the petition now: We need to extend Michigan’s water protections nationwide. And we must expand those protections, including providing public water distribution stations until water access is restored.

Here in Michigan’s 13th District, the third-poorest congressional district in the country, we’re also on the front lines of environmental injustices. That’s why, as the vice chair of the environment subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, I brought a congressional field hearing to Michigan’s 13th District. My colleagues in Congress need to hear directly from people who know firsthand why we all need clean air and water. 

After decades of air pollution, many people have developed underlying chronic health conditions such as asthma, increasing their chances of contracting COVID-19 and requiring hospitalization, overwhelming hospitals more quickly. 

Such factors have made Detroit one of the nation’s coronavirus epicenters. Some experts are calling it a “war zone” right now. And across Michigan, people of color—especially black people—are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

So our staff is pivoting to meet people’s growing needs, including through our neighborhood service centers. Amid this crisis, we’re ramping up constituent services while pushing groundbreaking legislation in Congress to ensure a people-first COVID-19 response. 

We need to act now to save people’s lives, and we must fix our water systems long term so Michiganders and all Americans can access safe drinking water. 

If we raise our voices loud enough together, I know we can make the change we need. 

Sign the petition now to tell state and federal elected leaders: Immediately pass a moratorium on all water shut-offs and restore water access for everyone whose service has been cut off.

In love and solidarity,

Rashida

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan

Congressional District 13

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