FLINT WATER CRISIS

Congressional Dems press Snyder to do more in Flint

Leonard N. Fleming
The Detroit News

Flint — Several congressional Democrats met on Saturday with Flint residents hard hit by the water crisis and pledged to fight for millions in funding and put pressure on a governor they say has failed to allay rising fears of residents exposed to lead in their drinking water.

From left, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell during a community meeting on Saturday at Foss Avenue Baptist Church

Led by U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, the delegation met with about 25 Flint residents — some of them children suffering from visible skin rashes and a school principal who has witnessed behavioral problems in students— and promoted Kildee’s bill asking for $765 million to replace lead pipes, expand health and social service coverage in schools, economic development and health monitoring.

The delegation, that included congerssional members from Texas and Ohio, leveled heavy criticism on Gov. Rick Snyder and his leadership during this crisis. They did not call on Snyder to resign, but insisted he “step up” and restore the broken trust with residents in this urban city in a saga that has troubled a nation.

“I was born and raised here. I’ve lived here my whole life. And we have been through a lot. We have never been through something like this,” said Kildee, standing in the foyer of Foss Avenue Baptist Church in Flint’s north end. “Not only is the challenge real in terms of the affect human beings, this is the biggest hit that the reputation of my community has never faced. It’s going to take a lot of help and a lot of investment to overcome it.”

The congressional delegation’s trip to Flint comes one day before a visit by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Sunday where she will attend a community meeting with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and residents. According to a statement from her campaign on Saturday, Clinton will use her trip to urge the Republican-controlled Senate to approve the Senate Democrats' $600 million amendment to help Flint. Earlier this week, Senate Democrats blocked an energy bill in order to try to force action on the Flint provision.

For 22 months, Flint has dealt with lead contamination stemming from a switch in the city’s water source. While under the control of an emergency manager appointed by Snyder, the city ended its longtime relationship with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee speaks to the news media as from left, Texas U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Brenda Lawrence, of Southfield, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, the Rev.Reginald Flynn, Ohio U.S. Rep. March Kaptur, U.S. Rep.Sandy Levin, of Royal Oaks, and Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson listen.

Snyder, who has apologized numerous times for lax monitoring and oversight that led to the increased lead in Flint’s drinking water, has fended off calls to resign -- and even heckling at events and restaurants with his family. The governor has vowed to work tirelessly to fix the 22-month-old Flint crisis and asked the public to give him time to do so.

Kildee said the kinds of resources the state of Michigan has and given and its culpability in the crisis that allowed the corrosive Flint River to affect residents should be enough for Snyder to actdecisively. He called on the state to use its huge surplus to match the amount whatever amount sent by Congress, if the bill is approved.

U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, said the crisis is “basically a state responsibility and a human crisis” and called on Snyder do more. He was joined by U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, and the mayor of Toledo who also pledged advice and resources.

“I think the governor should come here and spend some time with the families that we met and go door-to-door,” Levin said. “And here’s what he would hear: A woman with her kid and she didn’t want to take the shirt off because of all the black welts. And everybody should see those and the strong likelihood is because of the failure to act when their was time to act before this ever happened.”

Of the funding request that was formally made last Thursday, Kildee said, “if the outrage that we are hearing from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle is matched in any way with action, this is exactly what we need to have.”

“This is not an episode (where) you drop a couple of bottles of water off and say that it’s over, everyone goes home,” said U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield. “Because this is bigger than Flint. We expect the food that we eat to be safe for consumption. We expect the air that we breathe will be clean and will not harm and the water we drink will be safe to drink and that our children will be educated.”

“We have failed the American people here in the city of Flint,” she declared.

David Murray, a spokesman for the governor, said the crisis in Flint is a “failure of all levels of government” and is calling for the local, state and federal governments to “provide resources to protect the health and safety of residents.”

“Gov. Snyder has requested federal assistance and we hope the congressional Democrats who visited today can convince the federal government to provide Flint residents the help they need,” Murray said. “Gov. Snyder has already put nearly $70 million on the table to help with recovery programs -- even before his annual budget proposal to the Legislature next week, which will focus on long-term plans to address health, education and infrastructure issues.”

Murray said the federal government has provided $5 million in emergency assistance, but rejected other requests for help, including a call to expand the Women, Infants & Children program so more Flint children would have access to nutritional programs.

“We're hopeful that this denial is reconsidered, and that the state's request to expand Medicaid to everyone in the city age 21 and younger is approved by federal officials,” Murray said. “The governor is committed to the people of Flint and the city's recovery. Political finger-pointing only distracts from the many ongoing efforts to help residents.”

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