{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://upton.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398700", "Upton, House Advance Critical Water Infrastructure Legislation to Help Flint", "2016-09-28", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Fred Upton", "U000031", "upton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today joined his House colleagues in voting to advance the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA) by a bipartisan 399 to 25 vote. The legislation authorizes $170 million to provide assistance for the city of Flint, Michigan, through an amendment offered by U.S. Reps Dan Kildee, D-Flint, and John Moolenaar, R-Midland, and championed by Upton. Click here to watch Upton\u2019s statement on the House Floor in support of the amendment. \r\n\u201cToday, the House acted decisively to provide critical funding and support for folks in Flint. We all know what happened in Flint was a tragic failure at every level. But the Flint community now deserves answers, action, and results. Today we delivered,\u201d said Upton. \u201cThis bipartisan bill also strengthens and supports our Great Lakes. I applaud the House for coming together to advance key Flint funding in a responsible manner.\u201d\r\nWhat WRDA does: \r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency in charge of handling water infrastructure projects, and gives them the proper tools to tackle the backlog of water projects.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ensures funds are made available from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for operation and maintenance of navigation projects in the Great Lakes.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reauthorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. \r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Installs strict oversight of projects to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse through review of annual reports.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Follows a new, transparent approval process for projects that was established by Congress in 2014.\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Puts Congress on a two-year cycle of addressing infrastructure needs.\r\nWRDA was previously passed by the U.S. Senate by a 95 to 3 vote. It is supported by more than 80 groups, including the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, and the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce.\r\nUpton has long been a champion of funding for Flint. In February, the House passed legislation sponsored by Kildee and Upton that would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to alert communities when lead levels are too high. Upton visited Flint with Kildee in August. To date, the State of Michigan has committed $234 million to the City of Flint.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://upton.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398700"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9213390294462442, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}