@MyKitchenTable: Friday October 15, 2021

Dear Friend:

“The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves” – Wangari Maathai

REPLACING LEAD PIPES AND PROVIDING CLEAN WATER IN BENTON HARBOR

As many of you know, disturbing reports of lead in drinking water in Benton Harbor have led to an expedited effort to replace lead pipes and provide safe, clean drinking water to families and communities. For years, I’ve been one who has worked with my colleagues – both Republicans and Democrats – to take real steps to ensure every Michigander and American has access to clean drinking water. This situation is no different. We have to get this under control. Nobody in America should have to be worried whether their water is safe to drink. Period.

Back in 2016, when I was Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I worked with my Michigan colleague Dan Kildee, who represents Flint, on the Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act which was signed into law in December of 2016 and requires the EPA to notify states immediately when amounts of lead in their drinking water exceed federal standards. We had found out that the EPA Administrator had known for 9 months about Flint and never notified us in Michigan – Obama, to his credit, had her removed pretty darn quick when he learned she had known. Last October, I also brought then EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to Benton Harbor where he presented a $5.6 million check to Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad to help replace lead pipes in the city. The money came from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act’s Reduction in Lead Exposure via Drinking Water. I helped pass the WIIN Act through the House Energy and Commerce Committee when I was Chairman. You can read more HERE.

It’s certainly past time that this money be put to good use so that we can clean this mess up as quickly as possible. I would further note that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIF) provides some $15 billion for lead pipe replacement across the country – including in Southwest Michigan. You’ll remember from past KTs that the BIF passed the Senate in August by a margin of 69 to 30, but Speaker Pelosi has failed to bring it up for a vote in the House as she had originally promised to do so on September 27th.

The Governor will be in Benton Harbor on Tuesday and I will be in contact with her while I am in D.C. for votes.

VACCINE BOOSTER UPDATE

On Monday, MLIVE reported that folks in Michigan’s lowest-vaccinated counties were twice as likely to die from COVID. You can read the story HERE. Cass County (33%) is the lowest vaccinated county in Michigan per capita with St. Joseph County (39%) not much better. The rest of our counties are as follows: Allegan County (48%), Berrien County (46.5%), Kalamazoo County (56%), and Van Buren County (50%). If you have not been vaccinated, please consider talking to your doctor to get the vaccine. It sure beats a stay in the hospital on a ventilator.

You may have also seen the news that folks who received the last dose of the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago are eligible to receive a booster shot. For folks vaccinated with Moderna at least six months ago, an FDA advisory panel unanimously approved a low-dose booster shot. You can read more HERE. And just today, another panel recommended that the FDA authorize a booster shot for folks vaccinated with the J&J vaccine. More on that HERE.

The bottom line is – we need everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated to do so. There have been too many tragic stories of folks in the hospital who wish they had been vaccinated. Unfortunately, by that point, it’s far too late.

I have learned from a number of sources that many of our hospitals are seriously limiting or canceling elective surgeries requiring overnight stays due to both staffing shortages and COVID patient increases.

For a bit of good news, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb noted that the Delta variant would be the last major wave of the virus – so long as folks continue to get vaccinated. You can read more HERE.

THANK YOU TO OUR HEALTHCARE HEROES

Our healthcare workers – doctors, nurses, EMTs, and so many more – have worked around the clock for nearly two years battling COVID and saving countless lives. Their resilience in the face of unthinkable hardship is a real inspiration. If you have a loved one, friend, or neighbor who is a healthcare worker on the front lines of this awful pandemic, be sure to thank them. We really can never repay them for all they have done, but we can surely show our gratitude and appreciation. If you or somebody you know is a healthcare hero, we would love for you to send us a picture that we can feature in future editions of the KT. You can submit your photos HERE.

MY LETTER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Yesterday, my Energy and Commerce Republican colleagues and I sent a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (former Governor of Michigan) to get a better sense of the steps her department is taking to address sky-high energy prices, supply shortages, and record-breaking inflation. You can see the full letter HERE.

When I was Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, we fought to make America energy independent and succeeded. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s misguided policies to shut down pipelines – particularly the Keystone XL pipeline – and import oil from foreign countries, which have far fewer environmental standards than we do, are causing gas prices to rise.

Driving across our district multiple times this week it seems like gas prices are in the mid-$3.30s just about everywhere – about 40 cents higher than the week prior. We are also hearing reports from the Administration that folks should expect their heating bills to rise by some 56% this winter. Read more HERE. This really is the result of efforts to curtail American energy production and instead encourage OPEC to pump more oil and gas abroad. My view is that we are far better off when we produce our own energy supply that is more affordable and reliable as opposed to relying on foreign actors who often do not have our best interests in mind.

As the top Republican on the Energy Subcommittee, I will continue to do all that I can to ramp up domestic energy production and encourage – rather than discourage – policies that will lower heating bills and gas prices for Michigan families.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN FIRST SECURES $100 MILLION GIFT FOR KALAMAZOO CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CENTER

Some exciting news out of Kalamazoo! Southwest Michigan First, a real partner for economic development and job creation in Kalamazoo, in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency announced today a $100 million donation and a gifted parcel of land for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art career and technical education center. I’ve been one who has long supported real-world, hands-on career and technical education initiatives which are critical to the 21st century economy. This development will surely be a major investment in job and economic growth right here in Southwest Michigan for years to come. You can read more HERE.

MY VISIT TO ST. JULIAN WINERY LAST WEEKEND

As I noted in last week’s KT, I had the opportunity to attend the 100th anniversary celebration of the St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw last weekend. St. Julian is the longest operating winery in Michigan and exports its products throughout Michigan, the country, and the world. A number of other notable folks were in attendance as well, including State Senator Aric Nesbitt and State Rep. Beth Griffin. A great time for sure.

WEEKS AHEAD

The next 3 weeks will be solid legislative voting weeks back in D.C. You may remember that Speaker Pelosi promised to have the large infrastructure bill ($3.5T) ready to go before October ends. I am not aware of any successful negotiation or movement with the Problem Solvers Caucus Democrats or Senators Manchin or Sinema leading to such a conclusion. You’ll recall that the BIF primarily offset infrastructure spending without undoing the tax cuts enacted in 2017 on businesses and individual – unlike the proposed $3.5T partisan package being pushed by the Democratic progressive caucus and Senator Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Diana DeGette (D-CO) and I plan to introduce “Cures 2.0” next week which will update the 21st Century Cures legislation enacted in 2016 expediting the approvals of drugs and devices that was coupled with $45B in additional health research funding over 10 years (and paid for with offsets as Speaker Paul Ryan insisted). You’ll remember that this was the major legislation that I led through the Congress when it passed 392-26 in the House and 92-8 in the Senate and directly led to the COVID vaccine FDA approvals many months before it otherwise would have been. Major new elements contain telemedicine improvements, using Real World Evidence (RWE) with drug trials, and the authorization for a new department within the NIH called ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health) which will hopefully be a nimble department able to further promote and identify breakthrough cures and devices with the private sector very much along the lines that DARPA has done with new technology for the Defense Dept since the 50’s. ARPA-H has already been approved for some $3B from the House Appropriations Committee earlier for FY 22 and was a major component of Biden’s State of the Union address. Diana and I had a very constructive Zoom call with the White House earlier this week and will be pushing this legislation to reach the President’s desk before the year is done.

One last note re: the Select Committee investigating January 6th. You’ll remember that I opposed the original proposal offered by Speaker Pelosi that established a partisan Select Committee and then supported a bipartisan commission with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, a requirement that any subpoena would need both GOP and democrat support for it to be issued and that they finish by the end of 2021 so that it would not “bleed” into an election year. That Resolution passed the House, but former President Trump opposed it and as a consequence did not receive the 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and approval. Pelosi then established pretty much her original Select Committee with no end date or subpoena requirements. Subpoenas were issued and Steve Bannon did not comply by the date established and next week, that Select Committee will vote to hold him in Contempt of Congress. Should they do so, the Full House could vote on a Resolution requiring the Justice Dept to act on Bannon and that vote could come by the end of the week.   

So, needless to say, it will be a couple of intense weeks leading up to yet another “cliff” with the Continuing Resolution (CR—preventing a govt shutdown by freezing spending at FY 21 levels) and the debt ceiling extension all expiring 12/3. No indication yet of any progress in talks with the White House, House, or Senate.

As always, look for my report next week on the first of three weeks back in session.

All the best,

Fred

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