It only took about two months and four attempts, but yesterday I finally received a reply from U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. It is the identical reply that my wife received about a week ago– un-proofread prose and all (“I share your concerns with the impact of this devastating spill has had on Michigan’s environment.”)– so we have a nice matching set. 

The slow response and the form letter aren’t that surprising, of course, and in fairness I imagine that the office of a U.S. congressman receives mountains of correspondence. What is a little surprising, however, is the letter’s self-congratulatory tone. Evidently, Congressman Rogers seems to think that supporting a piece of weak legislation (and it’s a little insulting that he thinks we may never have heard of it) that has little to no real bearing upon Enbridge’s current construction activities on Line 6B in Michigan is a laudable response to the “devastating spill” in Marshall.

What’s more, we didn’t ask Congressman Rogers what he did last year. We’re asking him what he’s doing right now. We’re asking whether he’s had any conversations with state senators or township supervisors in the path of Line 6B; whether he has hosted or attended any public meetings on the subject; whether he has urged our governor to use his considerable clout to pressure Enbridge into doing more for Michigan; whether he himself has even bothered to utter a single public word in recent months about the way that Enbridge has conducted and continues to conduct business in Michigan. In other words, Congressman Rogers, what have you done for us lately?

It’s swell that Rogers assures us that he will continue to “monitor safety legislation impacting pipeline safety.” But we’re not asking him to sit back and passively “monitor”; we’re asking him to take action, to be a leader. Unfortunately, as with the rest of Michigan’s state and national elected officials, that appears to be asking too much.