U.S. Sen. Gary Peters touts infrastructure investments protecting Michigan from floods

LANSING, Mich. — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters visited West Michigan Friday to talk about $500 million secured for infrastructure in the new $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill. The bill was approved by the U.S. House last week and is anticipated to be signed by President Joe Biden on Monday.

"The one thing we know with climate change is that storms are coming at us with increased frequency and more importantly, with increased intensity and as the storms increase in intensity, damage to infrastructure can be considerable, we're seeing it in floods across our state," said Peters.

The democratic senator focused on that damage to infrastructure while in Grand Rapids touring floodwalls along the Grand River.

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Peters said money from the bipartisan infrastructure bill would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address disasters before they happen, saving taxpayers money in the long run.

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"Certainly this legislation isn't going to solve all our problems, we're going to need to continue to deal with it but it is a meaningful and significant step forward but we clearly we have to come together at the federal state and at the local level to make the kind of investments necessary to bring our infrastructure up to our standards," said Peters.

During the visit, Peters also met with Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Government Affairs Andy Johnston.