Friend,

For years, alongside water warriors in Detroit and across the country, I’ve been pushing for water to be treated as the human right it is.

But with millions of Americans suffering from not having access to clean water during a global pandemic where hand-washing is an essential part of staying safe, this fight has never been more urgent.

So this year, with Democratic control of Congress and the White House, my colleague Rep. Debbie Dingell and I re-introduced the Emergency Water is a Human Right Act to prohibit water shutoffs and ensure water affordability protections for low-income households. It successfully passed through the U.S. House last year as part of COVID relief legislation, but never made it into law.

We aren’t backing down, and we have another opportunity to address our country’s water crisis: the huge upcoming infrastructure package. That’s why I joined Rep. Dingell in leading 30 of our colleagues to ask President Biden to include our bill in upcoming infrastructure legislation. We finally have a chance to make water as a human right a reality.  

Can you donate now to help make the dream of clean, safe, affordable drinking water a reality for everyone who calls this country home?

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	Rashida Tlaib @RashidaTlaib
	🚨 New study: Nearly 500,000 #COVID19 infections & 9K deaths could have been prevented if we ensured access to water. A national water shutoff moratorium is needed now. #NoShutoffs

Rep. Dingell and I also just renewed our call for a national water shut-off moratorium, as Michigan’s moratorium expires at the end of this month.

Instead of supporting people who are struggling to pay increasingly expensive water bills (disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color, who have already been hardest-hit by the pandemic and are most likely to have contaminated water), our government shuts off their water.

Even before the pandemic, an estimated 15 million people in the United States had experienced a water shutoff. As federal funding for water infrastructure has plummeted and wages have stagnated, water costs were 80% higher on average in 2018 than they were in 2010.

And water affordability is even worse during the pandemic, as Food & Water Watch Public Water for All Campaign Director Mary Grant explained, saying: “Millions of people are struggling with their water bills and are falling deeper into water debt with every passing month.”

People who cannot afford their water bills are punished through water shutoffs, which can lead to evictions, foreclosures, ongoing health problems, and even Child Protective Services taking away people’s children—all of which are even more serious during this pandemic.

A new report from Food & Water Watch and Cornell University found that if a robust nationwide water shutoff moratorium had been put in place at the start of the pandemic, we could have prevented nearly 500,000 COVID-19 infections and saved the lives of approximately 9,000 Americans. Wow. That's 9,000 loved ones who should still be here.

To address this life-or-death crisis, Congress’s upcoming infrastructure package must include:

• A $1.5 billion water affordability fund for low-income households
• A moratorium on water shutoffs—and mandatory reconnections of disconnected water services
• A full replacement of dangerously outdated and deteriorating lead pipes across the country

Fortunately, President Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure plan includes “ensuring clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.” Now we need to ensure Congress acts to address our country’s water crisis. Can you help us make that a reality?

Chip in now to ensure clean, safe, affordable drinking water for everyone who calls this country home.

Thank you,

Rashida