Statement by Congressman Dan Kildee on Governor Snyder’s Announcement of Legionnaires’ Outbreak

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) issued the following statement today after Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced 87 cases of Legionnaires’ disease and 10 deaths in the Flint area since the Spring of 2014. “Today’s statement by Governor Snyder that he is treating Genesee County’s outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease ‘with the same urgency and transparency as the lead response in the city of Flint’ is outrageous. The state’s response to the Flint water crisis continues to be inadequate and the people of Flint deserve a response that meets the severity of the situation. “On September 22, 2015, I wrote to several federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alerting them of significant concerns about the safety of water in Flint and asking for their assistance. “The state has demonstrated repeatedly that they cannot be trusted to make decisions that are in the best interests of Flint residents. Dr. Marc Edwards, who has studied Flint’s water, said today that the state’s failure to properly treat the Flint River water potentially caused the Legionnaires’ outbreak. This is why agencies like the CDC and HHS need to be on the ground in Flint immediately. "Flint cannot wait any longer for the Governor to take action. I renew my call for immediate help from the federal government to make sure the people of Flint get the resources they need whether the state takes action or not.”

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