Congress Urgently Needs to Act On the Infrastructure and Reconciliation Bills to Safeguard Water Equity

    CHICAGO, IL, November 03, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With the announcement of the Build Back Better Framework, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is urging Congress to take immediate action on both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better reconciliation package.

"These two pieces of legislation represent the most significant long-term investments in our nation's competitiveness in nearly a century," said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot of Chicago. "Our cities have been waiting for these investments for too long."

"Congress has a chance to create millions of good-paying union jobs, grow our economy, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind," said Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee. "We must advance equity, fight the climate crisis, and position the United States to compete globally and win in the 21st century."

"Our citizens depend on the Great Lakes that represent close to 80% of our continent's fresh surface water," said Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit. "Passage of these bills is imperative to the environmental and economic health of our region."

The bills include the following provisions that are critical to Great Lakes communities:

• Climate: Funding for environmental initiatives that represents an important step forward in our fight against climate change.
• Roads & Bridges: Repairs and rebuilds our roads and makes the single largest investment in our nation's bridges.
• Transit: Expands public transit options across every state in the country and replaces thousands of deficient transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, and zero emission vehicles.
• Clean Water and Water Equity: Delivers clean water to millions of families and will help in our efforts to eliminate the nation's lead service lines that impact aging cities and disadvantaged communities.
• Resilience - Provides funding to restore Great Lakes coastlines that have been devastated by rising waters and the impact of climate change.

About The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational coalition of 135 U.S. and Canadian mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The Cities Initiative and local officials integrate environmental, economic and social agendas and sustain a resource that represents approximately 80 percent of North America's surface freshwater supply, provides drinking water for 40 million people and is the foundation upon which a strong regional economy is based.

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