Pass Federal Legislation Guaranteeing the Right to Clean Water and Government Transparency

The Fifth Circuit just ruled that Americans have no constitutional right to clean drinking water or accurate information from public officials. That ruling should alarm every elected official who believes government exists to protect people, not poison them. Pass federal legislation that explicitly establishes these as protected rights — because if the Constitution doesn't cover it, Congress must. The Jackson, Mississippi case is a preview of what happens without that protection. Residents alleged officials deliberately allowed lead to contaminate their water supply, and the court's response was essentially: sue in tort, vote harder, or petition someone. That is not justice. The dissent compared the situation to the Flint water crisis, and she was right to. When a government actively endangers the people it serves, qualified immunity and procedural gaps should not be a shield. A federal statute guaranteeing the right to safe drinking water and truthful disclosure from public officials would close this gap. It would give residents like those in Jackson a real legal remedy, not a suggestion to try their luck at the ballot box. This is a basic standard of civilized governance. Make it law.