Dan Kildee: “I thank you for that question, because that is really the core of what we are dealing with right now. We need a lot of…”

“I thank you for that question, because that is really the core of what we are dealing with right now. We need a lot of help in Flint. This could have been avoided. But now that this has occurred, there is some work we need to do to fix the pipes. There is some work we need to do to make sure the emergency needs are met--temporary water. But the real need is this human need. Lead is a neurotoxin. It affects development of the brain. The citizens who are most at risk are those children who are still in those early developmental stages, particularly children age 6 and under. Literally, children feeding, drinking formula made with this water will have the trajectory of their lives potentially affected. The thing that I think is important to keep in mind is, first of all, Flint is a tough town. We can live through this; we can get through this; we can succeed; but we are going to need resources. We need resources, really, to come from the people who did this to us, which is the State government with, I think, a completely bankrupt philosophy that basically says you are on your own. Well, you are not on your own when it comes to drinking water. We all expect drinking water to be clean. We have every right to expect that. It is a human right. But what we need now and what I think is morally required is to wrap our arms around these kids.…”