Sanders voted against Flint water crisis funding in 2016

[PatSeg]

During a critical junction in the Flint water crisis four years ago, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a top Democratic presidential contender, voted against a measure that provided funding to help state and city officials to address the matter.

In December 2016, Sanders voted against a continuing resolution that would have provided up to $170 million funding for Flint. It would have provided funding for the lead-contaminated drinking water system. The resolution included $100 million in capitalization grants to the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that the city could use to replace its water pipes.

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The 2016 Sanders vote was against an omnibus bill that included what critics say was a “poison pill” amendment that was bad for jobs and the environment. Sanders, however, did support funding for Flint in an earlier bill in March (S 2848), the campaign said.

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“If you can’t support Michigan in a situation like Flint,” (Democratic party chair Keith) Williams said, “then why should we vote for you for president?”

https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/03/06/new-sanders-voted-against-flint-water-crisis-funding-in-2016/

Though it appears that Sanders had reason to vote against the bill, voters in Michigan are not liable to forget his vote against the funding and his justifications could come across as a bit tone deaf for those who were living with a real and urgent crisis.

[TwilightZone]

1. Quite a few Dems voted against it for similar reasons.

Issues like this should be addressed in standalone bills. Tacking on a bunch of amendments just, pardon the pun, muddies the waters.

Of course, amendments seem to be Sanders' preferred method of getting things done, so eliminating them would probably adversely affect his strategy.

[NurseJackie]

2. Bernie's "all or nothing" and "no negotiating" philosophy will be the end of him...

... sometimes you have to let the other side get a little of what THEY want in order to get what WE want too. That's how it works, Bernie. There is no honor in walking away empty handed EVERY TIME! This is not a point of pride. This type of vanity and stubbornness only helps to PRESERVE the status quo. Fact of the matter is this: even "incremental progress" is STILL PROGRESS.

[PatSeg]

6. Yes

I understand the reluctance to vote for the bill, but it was a real emergency that needed to be addressed. It was pretty much predictable that republicans would use it to get something that they wanted.

I'm sure the people of Flint did not appreciate congress playing politics with their crisis.

[George II]

3. He always has a "reason" to vote against good bills.

[NurseJackie]

8. It's that "all or nothing" philosophy. It's his unwillingness to compromise or to find common ground

It's that "all or nothing" philosophy. It's his unwillingness to compromise or to find common ground and mutually beneficial give-and-take. For some bizarre reason, coming home with NOTHING is a point of pride for him as long as he's been able to DENY the opposition of getting something that they want as well. He's fixated with making sure the other side gets nothing, and is willing to do that at the expense of progress that would help the most vulnerable among us.

This is a myopic and selfish thing for any politician to behave in this way. Nothing would get done EVER. Status-quo forever. In the real world, there's always negotiating. You don't always get your way... and sometimes, getting a little of what you want means that the other side gets a little of what THEY want too.

Deal with it, Bernie! That's life! That's politics! Oh that man infuriates me sometimes!

[Jedi Guy]

14. I guess to some people...

It's better to fail and remain pure than to accomplish something through compromise. That approach only works in the real world if there's a complete and total power imbalance in one's own favor. If Democrats had supermajorities in both houses of Congress, then sure, push hard for everything we want. Until that happens, like it or not, we're gonna have to find a way to coexist with the GOP.

The GOP's descent into Trumpism, of course, makes that exponentially harder. I'm hoping that whatever remains of the sane GOP of yore can purge itself of Trump and his sycophants and course-correct. A vain hope, most likely, but it'd be nice to return to the days of loyal opposition instead of the Church of the Orange Emperor.

[Demsrule86]

4. Great post K&R

[RazBerryBeret]

5. it was added to another bill, of course

Barbara Boxes on this bill (Water Resources Development Act):
“You take a beautiful bill like WRDA ... and then you put a pile of dirt on top of it, which I call the McCarthy rider, and then you stick a little Maraschino cherry on top, which is Flint and a couple of other good things,” Boxer said on the floor. “And then you say, OK, eat the dirt.”

Senators from Washington state and Oregon also opposed the amendment, which in part would boost water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. They said it would cost fishery jobs and ease environmental restrictions.

“Our colleagues over here were frustrated that the other side would never live up to a Flint agreement,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

“And the consequence is they’re cynical enough to put Flint in this bill as a way to get votes for something they know they should not be bringing to the floor of the United States Senate.”

[PatSeg]

7. You make some excellent points

When examining a politician's voting record, it isn't all black or white, right or wrong. That said, lets remember that the next time someone attacks Biden for votes he made decades ago, in a different era, with different priorities. Not everything is as it seems at first glance.

Meanwhile, Bernie needs to consider how his vote on the Flint water crisis is viewed by the African American community in Michigan.

[NYMinute]

9. This!

[RazBerryBeret]

10. agreed

it's easy to take a single point and make a case to make a candidate look bad. Common in politics. voting records are important but not the end all for a political stance.
Biden needs to consider how the AA community feels about his action on the Flint Water Crisis which started in 2014, when he was VP.

[PatSeg]

11. Okay

I am searching Google and cannot find anything in regards to Biden's action on the Flint Water Crisis in 2014. Can you enlighten me?

[RazBerryBeret]

12. that was my point.

inaction as a VP. Crisis started in '14, was confirmed in '15 with EPA reports.

[PatSeg]

13. What did the Vice President have to do with that?

[Cha]

15. KR!

[Maru Kitteh]

16. Bernie's purity tests

Yeah. I don't think I'd have time for that if I was sitting in Flint with lead in my water.

[Sunlei]

17. caused quite a debate between Sanders & Clinton March 2016 in flint

many Ds voted against that bill because of the amendments.

Sanders used his opening statement to repeat his call for the state's Republican governor to resign over what he called a "dereliction of duty," before shifting to his core message about economic inequality.

For the first time, Clinton agreed that Gov. Rick Snyder should "resign or be recalled." Previously, she had said her approach was to try to solve the problem and that assigning blame could wait.


March 2016
https://www.theeagle.com/election2016/democrats-clinton-and-sanders-pounce-on-flint-water-crisis-/article_08eca96e-e42c-11e5-9012-b308853b3867.html

[PatSeg]

18. And you see

For every vote or political statement made in the past, there is almost always more to the story. I don't know if I agree or disagree with Sanders' vote on this one, but I can keep an open mind, which I hope people will do when they berate Biden for his votes or quote him out of context.