Flint Water Crisis Triggers New Bill That Would Help Eliminate Lead From Our Water Supply

Since the Flint, Michigan, scandal, which has recently resulted in charges connected with the deliberate cover-up of unsafe lead levels in drinking water, government officials around the nation have scrambled to double-check and improve the safety of their own water supplies. New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand are leading the charge to approve a $7 billion annual initiative to ensure that dangerous levels of lead (and other chemicals) stay out of our tap water nationwide, for good.

"Flint helped bring this issue to the forefront," Senator Schumer told NBC affiliate WGRZ.

Senate Democrats plan to vote on the proposal next week. However, even if the bill is passed, it won't provide the massive federal funding needed to implement the ideas.

About 350 schools and daycare centers failed tests for lead in drinking water from 2012 through 2015, according to data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the proposal, both schools and private homes of up to $110,000 annual income would be eligible for tax reimbursement for testing and new plumbing installation.