Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Rashida Tlaib

Democrat on Dte Power Outages 2026-07-14

179 words · 13 sentences · 15 clauses

Statement grade

Average 93 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Positioning 10%Claims 78%Procedure 3%The ask 9%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. Speaker, Positioning · 3 wordsshame on DTE.Positioning Claims · 113 wordsShame on DTE for throwing swag bags to my residents after they went through 4 days without power.¹ Shame on DTE for increasing our rates just a few months ago to $242 million and then 2 months later ask us for another $474.3 million increase.² Shame on you for allowing 400,000 of our families to be without power.³ We have the most unreliable service in the region, yet we pay the highest rates. Shame on them for throwing a $42 reimbursement for spoiled groceries and spoiled medicine, especially when grocery and drug prices have increased.⁴ We can’t even rely on DTE to get us through the summer storms. This was a 20-minute storm.⁵ Positioning · 8 wordsShame on DTE for profiting off our pain.Positioning Procedure · 5 wordsTo my residents, I say: ProcedurePositioning · 7 wordsIt doesn’t have to be like this.Positioning The ask · 17 wordsThe Michigan Public Service Commission needs to stop approving DTE rate increases and instead hold DTE accountable. Claims · 26 wordsI introduced the Make DTE Pay Act just for that.⁶ Make them pay for polluting our water and our air while hiking up our customer rates.

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 86

4 of 4 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “shame on DTE.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Shame on DTE for profiting off our pain.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “To my residents, I say:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “It doesn’t have to be like this.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 100

0 of 4 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Nothing lost points.

Claims · 6

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“4 days without power”Tlaib’s residents experienced a DTE power outage lasting 4 days.search
2“increasing our rates just a few months ago to $242 million and then 2 months later ask us for another $474.3 million increase”DTE received a rate increase of $242 million a few months before the speech, and then asked for an additional $474.3 million increase two months later.search
3“400,000 of our families to be without power”About 400,000 families lost power in the DTE service area during the outage.search
4“a $42 reimbursement for spoiled groceries”DTE offered a $42 reimbursement for spoiled groceries.search
5“This was a 20-minute storm”The storm that caused the outage lasted 20 minutes.search
6“I introduced the Make DTE Pay Act”Rashida Tlaib introduced a bill called the Make DTE Pay Act.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15