WASHINGTON (AP) – Senators from both parties reached a tentative deal Wednesday to address a water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and allow a long-stalled energy bill to move forward.
A proposal by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., James Inhofe, R-Okla., would authorize $100 million in emergency aid to fix and replace the city’s lead-contaminated pipes, as well as $70 million in loans to improve its water infrastructure. The deal also authorizes $50 million nationwide to bolster lead-prevention programs and improve children’s health.
Stabenow and Inhofe declined to comment Wednesday, but Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said a deal was being finalized. A copy of the Stabenow-Inhofe proposal was being circulated Wednesday at the Capitol.
The apparent agreement follows weeks of negotiations on how to provide emergency aid to Flint, where drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit water system and began drawing from the Flint River in 2014 to save money.
Water was not properly treated, and lead from aging pipes leached into the supply.