Target: Mike Collins, Chair of House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Goal: Prioritize safety and integrity of nation’s water infrastructure and systems.
If you’ve been issued a boil water alert recently, it may be due to a conflict thousands of miles away. Several states’ water systems have reportedly been hacked, and investigators believe Iran – with which U.S. leadership is currently mired in conflict – may be to blame. But while millions of Americans remain in danger of losing access to critical clean water, the nation’s leader is busy with self-congratulatory cabinet meetings and inflammatory rhetoric blaming the water crisis on certain targeted states.
“They blame it on Iran. I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent. I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota.” President Trump made these comments following a report from a major newspaper outlet that dozens of municipal water systems in the state were the latest victims of a cyberattack. Similar attacks have occurred in other states, both recently and historically. Rather than addressing the festering problem and restoring funding for agencies crucial in monitoring such activities, the administration has instead chosen to pass the buck and once again use a crisis for political bait…much like when a commemoration of the World War II Normandy invasion turned into a rant against immigration. In that case, the people of Normandy spoke out and inspired a change in American leadership’s approach.
Sign the petition below to follow their lead and demand these officials stop grandstanding and start leading.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Representative Collins,
Access to safe drinking water should be a fundamental human right. Any threat to this right must be treated with urgency and seriousness, not delay and distraction. And politics should certainly have no role in the matter.
America’s own investigative teams have reportedly confirmed that multiple cyber-attacks against water infrastructure have taken place across the country. The involved parties are apparently known as well. Strengthening security and safeguards around water municipal systems and related technology must be a priority, especially given the ever-rising role of cyber-warfare in today’s world.
Acknowledge this problem and work in partnership with state and local officials to create a robust protective framework. Preserve a key resource that unites us all.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Wallace Chuck
