In the News

The bill called the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Assistance Act, was introduced March 19 by Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who co-chair the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force.

Stevens said Michigan cannot address the crisis without federal support."We know in Michigan our pride is our water and our stewardship of the freshwater assets in the Great Lakes," Stevens said. "We also need to do cleanup."

A new bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to modernise wastewater treatment systems nationwide by establishing a five-year federal grant programme worth $1 billion. The Advanced Wastewater Treatment Assistance Act of 2026, sponsored by Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would cover up to 50% of project costs for eligible water utilities deploying technologies such as granular activated carbon and reverse osmosis — methods proven to eliminate persistent pollutants including PFAS compounds.

Stevens’ and Fitzpatrick’s Advanced Wastewater Treatment Assistance Act would create a five-year federal grant program to help water utilities install the advanced water treatment technologies needed to remove difficult pollutants, while also protecting against harmful algal blooms.

In Washington, Michigan Representatives Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell have introduced the Justice for Allie Act. It would make it a federal crime to knowingly coerce, manipulate, or entice a vulnerable adult into sending intimate images with intent to cause harm.

The bill closes a major gap in federal law by addressing online sexual exploitation that crosses state lines. The legislation is named for Allie Hayes, a Michigan woman with Down syndrome who was targeted by an online predator in 2017.

The Michigan woman who inspired the state's Justice For Allie law is now at the center of a new push in Washington.

Congresswomen Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens have introduced a bill they say would close a gap that let online predators slip through the cracks when the victim is a vulnerable adult, and the crime crosses state lines.

In Washington, Michigan Representatives Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell introduced the Justice for Allie Act. It would make it a federal crime to knowingly coerce, manipulate, or entice a vulnerable adult into sending intimate images with the intent to cause harm.

The bill closes a major gap in federal law by addressing online sexual exploitation that crosses state lines. The legislation is named for Allie Hayes, a Michigan woman with Down syndrome who was targeted by an online predator in 2017.

Two Congresswomen representing Michigan want to take a state law national, proposing legislation they say would close a major gap in fighting sexual exploitation.

Representatives Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell introduced the Justice for Allie Act. Now the legislation would make it a federal crime to knowingly coerce, manipulate, or entice a vulnerable adult into sending intimate images with the intent to cause harm.

U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) and Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) are leading a new federal push to crack down on online predators who target adults with disabilities, inspired by the case of a Michigan woman with Down syndrome whose family could not find justice under existing law.