Kildee Media Availability Following Today’s Congressional Hearing on Flint Water Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) –After today’s U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the Flint water crisis, Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) held a media availability. Below is a transcript of Congressman Kildee’s question and answer session:
REP. DAN KILDEE: “Let me just say something quickly: the folks that we are talking about are my friends, my family, the people I grew up with. So this is something I take personally. I know my colleagues from Michigan, but the Ranking Member as well, are taking this as a personal front on basic human dignity. I share this concern.
“Listening to this hearing, I heard Governor Snyder say he took responsibility, or do everything to take responsibility. Responsibility is not just apologizing; responsibility is making it right. And he talks about what he’s asked of the Michigan Legislature, we know we have done the work to figure out what we think it’ll take to fix this problem. I introduced the ‘Families of Flint Act’ – $1.5 billion – and our suggestion was split it fifty-fifty, between the federal and state government because these are citizens of the United States and citizens of Michigan too. I don’t believe that is the apportionment of responsibility, but that’s what we think is part of being the solution.
“What the Governor is doing – he’s got a billion dollars he talked about, a billion dollars that he doesn’t know what to do with. And children in Flint are going to suffer for the rest of their lives as a result of this, and he can’t come up with a plan.
REP. DAN KILDEE: [INAUDIBLE]
REP. DAN KILDEE: “… Dr. Edwards’ criticism of the EPA is important. We need to listen to critics in order to improve everything. But let’s just remind ourselves of what the Governor’s people said when Marc Edwards came up with the data that said there was lead in the water. They said, and this is as near of a quote that I can come up with, this is the Governor’s position: Dr. Edwards ‘finds a rabbit in every hole he reaches into.’ They tried to discredit him. They tried to discredit Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. They tried to discredit LeeAnne Walters. They tried to discredit every one of the heroes of this story, and now suddenly, because the Governor knows he’s got his back against the wall, he wants to pretend as if these are his partners and he embraces them. Well, you know what, Governor? You should have embraced them when they came up with these questions in the first place, and maybe the problem would not have been so big.
REPORTER: Do you agree with the ranking member that he should resign?
REP. DAN KILDEE: “I think the Governor has to examine his own conscience to determine whether he has the moral authority to continue to lead the state of Michigan. But the one thing I have said, it would be a morally bankrupt act for him to leave state government without solving this problem. He, more than any other, person created it. He keeps talking about these civil servants who made the mistakes – no. The mistake is in bringing a philosophy of government to the state of Michigan that says dollars and cents come before people. He has pushed that time and time again. It is just plain wrong and it is his mistake that caused this problem. He needs to be the one to fix it.”
Source: Congressman Dan Kildee
