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Congressman Dan Kildee’s Remarks at Press Event Calling on Congress to #DoYourJob and Act on Flint Aid

May 26, 2016

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today spoke at a bicameral press event on the steps of the U.S. Capitol urging Republicans in Congress to do their job and act on a federal aid package for Flint in the wake of the city's water crisis. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid also spoke at the event. Kildee, Pelosi and Reid were joined by other members of the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses.

Below is a transcript of Congressman Kildee's remarks, as delivered: "I represent Flint, Michigan, a city of 100,000 people that for the last two years has not been able to drink their water. It has been poisoned by lead. Through no fault of their own, 9,000 children under the age of six have had lead go into their bodies – lead is a neurotoxin. "But two years later, Congress has not yet acted to help the people of my hometown. Even though the federal government did not create this crisis, the people who live in my hometown, the people of Flint – they are citizens of Flint, they are citizens of Michigan, they are citizens of the United States of America. "One of the first votes that I cast after I was elected in 2012 was to provide relief to the people of the East Coast who were suffering as a result of Hurricane Sandy. I was proud to cast that vote because I was proud as my colleagues were to stand with our fellow Americans, to help people who were in their moment of greatest need. "Congress needs to do its job and help the people of my hometown. They have waited far too long. And we know what we need to do. We need to provide the basic help to fix the infrastructure and provide the support – especially to those kids – who now face an additional hurdle because of the actions, the callous actions, of those in state government. "We could do it today. Congress needs to do what it must do to stand with the people of Flint, Michigan, and help them through this crisis. Congress needs to do their job."

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Issues:Local Issues