On Flint, A Year of Shameful Inaction from House GOP
At House Democrats' Steering & Policy Hearing on the Flint Water Crisis in February, pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha testified before the committee on the danger facing Flint's children and on the urgent need for Congressional action:
"I firmly believe that it is imperative for public policy makers at all levels of government, regardless of party or affiliation, to act quickly to address the urgent needs of the Flint community. We need congressional lawmakers to respond to this man-made disaster with the same impetus and robust response as they would for any other kind of disaster. It is my hope that our discussion today, and this committee's interest in Flint, will help spur action by Congress."
Yet, more than seven months after that hearing – and nearly a year after she first revealed her terrifying findings on the lead levels in Flint children – Dr. Hanna-Attisha offered this disheartening update this week:
"We are now actually in our third year in Flint of water that we can still not drink. So despite sounding the alarm a year ago, despite our residents being on this contaminated water since April of 2014, we do not have safe water in Flint."
At every turn, House Republicans have callously obstructed action to help the thousands of children caught in this horrifying public health emergency. House Democrats have repeatedly pressed Republicans in Congress for action to provide relief to the children and families of Flint.
January – MLive: Congresswoman makes formal request for federal Flint water hearings. "U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence has formally requested congressional hearings on Flint's water crisis…‘We trust our government to protect the health and safety of our communities, and this includes the promise of clean water to drink and clean air to breath,' Lawrence said in her statement."
January – Detroit Free Press: Congressional Democrats want Snyder's Flint documents. "Disappointed that Republican leaders of a congressional committee did not call Gov. Rick Snyder to testify at a hearing next week on the Flint water crisis, two Democratic members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee went to Snyder directly Friday to ask for e-mails related to Flint."
February – The Detroit News: House Democrats invite Snyder to testify on Flint. "The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee has invited Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to testify about the lead contamination of drinking water in Flint at a Feb. 10 hearing. Democratic Committee Co-Chairs Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Donna F. Edwards of Maryland, joined by Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, sent a letter Thursday asking Snyder to testify, noting that a congressional hearing held Wednesday didn't include top state officials."
February – Detroit Free Press: Democrats rip Flint response, pitch Kildee's $1.5B plan. "U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee led a group of fellow House Democrats through Flint on Saturday, meeting with residents affected by the city's water crisis and making the case for his new, $1.5-billion Flint aid bill…"
February – KMTV11: House Democrats hear testimony from Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, others on water crisis. "Flint Mayor Karen Weaver traveled to Washington, D.C. today to testify in front of the House Democratic Committee on Steering and Policy. The hearing examined the state of the water crisis in Flint and heard testimony from public health experts alongside Mayor Weaver."
February – Fox 2 Detroit: House Democrats in Washington hold second hearing on Flint water crisis. "The Flint Water Crisis was front and center with Washington Democrats during a hearing in D.C. on Wednesday. Lawmakers asked several key officials to testify, including Governor Rick Snyder - who declined - but doctors and local leaders were there for second round of testimony in front of House democrats."
March – ABC: Pelosi, House Democrats to Travel to Flint on Fact-Finding Mission. "‘Our focus is the people of Flint,' said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota, a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. ‘Our focus is to listen to these folks, to hear what they have to tell us, and use this information to formulate the best proposal to help them.'"
March – POLITICO: Pelosi wants to cancel recess to deal with Zika, Flint and opioid crises. "House Democrats want Speaker Paul Ryan to postpone an upcoming congressional recess until the chamber acts on a series of pressing environmental and health crises. In a letter to the Wisconsin Republican Friday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders say the House should stay in session until there is a legislative response to the Zika virus, opioid addiction and the Flint water crisis."
March – Associated Press: Democratic congressman says Congress bickers while Flint, Michigan, struggles with water crisis. "‘We will not give up, that's for sure,' Kildee said, vowing that congressional Republicans ‘are not going to run out the clock on Flint, Michigan.'"
April – Detroit Free Press: Kildee presses House speaker for Flint crisis aid. "Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee, a Flint native, wrote Thursday to House Speaker Paul Ryan, calling on Congress to immediately act on emergency aid for Flint, which remains without safe drinking water.
April – MLive: Kildee calls on Paul Ryan to take up emergency aid for Flint water crisis. "‘For two years, because of a failure of government, nearly 100,000 people living in Flint have not had access to safe drinking water due to lead contamination,' Kildee wrote. ‘This is simply unacceptable. The Congress has it in its capacity to help and must act to resolve the crisis.'"
May – Kildee Moves to Force House Vote on Federal Aid Package for Flint. "‘Congress needs to act to make it right for the people of Flint,' Congressman Kildee said. ‘Flint families who are at risk due to exposure to lead in their drinking water need Congress to do their job so that they have access to the health, nutritional and educational support they need to thrive.'"
June – The Detroit News: Rep. Cummings: Flint kids need to be compensated. "U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings spoke Friday at the 50th anniversary celebration for a prominent Detroit church, calling for children to receive financial and other help to recover from Flint's water crisis."
July – Detroit News: Congressional Dems push for Flint aid vote. "Democrats in the U.S. House are pushing Republicans in the GOP-led chamber to allow a vote on legislation that would spend $765 million to address Flint's lead-contaminated water crisis before Congress goes on its traditional summer recess in August."
July – Michigan Radio: Democrats in Congress want House Speaker Paul Ryan to act on Flint crisis now. "Democrats in Congress want House Speaker Paul Ryan to send money to Flint before Congress adjourns for seven weeks…‘We think Flint people deserve that kind of help, they did not do this to themselves,' Kildee says. ‘The federal government can help, and it should and we think Congress should have a chance to act, and that's what we're asking for.'"
August – CBS News: House Democrats: GOP should end 7-week recess to tackle Zika, Flint, gun violence. "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats called on their Republican colleagues Thursday to suspend their seven-week congressional recess and return to Washington to address a series of public health crises."
September – The Hill: Michigan lawmakers plot path forward on Flint aid. "Supporters of emergency aid for Flint, Mich., are eyeing every possible legislative vehicle to get a funding package over the finish line in Congress…"
House Democrats will continue to demand an end to House Republicans' shameful inaction in the face of a crisis for Flint's children.