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Letter to the Hon. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House - Act on Flint Before House Adjourns

Letter

By: Rick Larsen, Cheri Bustos, Diana DeGette, Mark Pocan, Gene Green, David Cicilline, Ruben Gallego, Loretta Sanchez, Yvette Clarke, José Serrano, Tony Cárdenas, Albio Sires, Adam Smith, Barbara Lee, Eric Swalwell, Keith Ellison, Adam Schiff, Anna Eshoo, Terri Sewell, John Garamendi, Lacy Clay, Jr., Tammy Duckworth, John Carney, Jr., Maxine Waters, Dan Lipinski, Janice Hahn, John Conyers, Jr., Suzanne Bonamici, Eliot Engel, Donna Edwards, John Sarbanes, Emanuel Cleaver II, Beto O'Rourke, Sandy Levin, Raul Grijalva, Ed Perlmutter, Betty McCollum, Frederica Wilson, Marcia Fudge, Mike Doyle, Jr., Elizabeth Esty, Earl Blumenauer, Don Payne, Jr., Peter Welch, Jan Schakowsky, Joyce Beatty, Nydia Velázquez, Rubén Hinojosa, Sr., Jackie Speier, Robin Kelly, Stephen Lynch, Joe Crowley, Mark Takano, Richard Neal, Elijah Cummings, Judy Chu, Danny Davis, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Joe Kennedy III, Jim Langevin, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Marcy Kaptur, Bill Foster, Lois Frankel, Louise Slaughter, Alan Grayson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Mike Thompson, Jared Polis, Niki Tsongas, Brian Higgins, Zoe Lofgren, Gerry Connolly, Kathy Castor, Sam Farr, Ted Deutch, Seth Moulton, Alan Lowenthal, Don Beyer, Jr., Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mike Honda, Brenda Lawrence, Rosa DeLauro, Jim McGovern, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Gregory Meeks, Brendan Boyle, Jared Huffman, Kilili Sablan, Sean Maloney, Doris Matsui, John Larson, Katherine Clark, Patrick Murphy, Steve Cohen, Pete Aguilar, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer, John Lewis, Dan Kildee, Karen Bass, Debbie Dingell, Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler, John Delaney, Bill Keating, Cedric Richmond, Tim Ryan, Mike Quigley, Luis Gutiérrez, Julia Brownley, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Juan Vargas, Sheila Jackson Lee, André Carson, Hank Johnson, Jr., Frank Pallone, Jr., Paul Tonko, Bobby Scott, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Dave Loebsack, Steve Israel, Annie Kuster, Rick Nolan, Jim McDermott, Matt Cartwright, Al Green, Susan Davis, Eleanor Norton, Gwen Moore, Ted Lieu, Hakeem Jeffries, Linda Sánchez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Suzan DelBene, John Yarmuth
Date: July 13, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care Environment

Speaker Ryan:

We request that the U.S. House of Representatives immediately do its job and act to address the ongoing public health crisis in Flint, Mich. The people of Flint continue to lack access to safe drinking water and need emergency funding to respond and recover to this health emergency affecting 100,000 Americans.

In recent months, this Congress has brought forth legislation regarding other crises including the Puerto Rican debt crisis, the Zika virus and the opioid addiction epidemic, but has failed to bring up legislation to send resources to Flint to deal with the water crisis. The impacts of lead, a dangerous neurotoxin, are permanent and life-long. While nothing can be done to reverse lead's effects on the body, Congress can act to provide resources to Flint and minimize lead's impact on the victims. Each day that passes that we fail to take action is a day that the children of Flint cannot get back.

Since President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for the city of Flint in January, the Administration has used existing authorities to respond to the crisis. The current authorities and funding, however, are not enough to fully address the crisis.

The Families of Flint Act, H.R. 4479, has the support of 172 Members of Congress and would provide federal funding to help Flint recover from this man-made crisis. All of the funding in the Families of Flint Act must be matched by the state of Michigan; the state bears the majority of the responsibility for fixing the crisis that it caused. The federal government must also step up to provide the necessary help. The Families of Flint Act would provide the emergency and long term resources needed for Flint while sharing responsibility.

The House of Representatives must act immediately to provide the necessary help to Flint and respond to the water crisis as it has in the past for other Americans in crisis.


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