Dan Kildee: “I thank my friend from New York (Mr. Tonko) for yielding and for his work advocating on behalf of the people of my…”

“I thank my friend from New York (Mr. Tonko) for yielding and for his work advocating on behalf of the people of my hometown, Flint. I also want to thank colleagues on both sides of the aisle: Leader Pelosi; our whip, Mr. Hoyer; the Speaker who committed to help make sure that we get this Flint provision through; as well as other colleagues who have stood with me as I have fought now for a year and a half for the people of my hometown. Flint is a city of 100,000 people who still can't drink their water. This is not a question of access to water. The water flowing through the pipes in Flint has poisoned that city: 100,000 people, 9,000 children under the age of 6 affected permanently by high levels of lead being delivered to them through their municipal water system, caused by careless, thoughtless decisions based on an obsession with austerity by the State government. And then they were told the water was safe to drink, when that same State government knew it was not. Look, we know where we stand. No bill is perfect. This bill is far from perfect. Many of the provisions included in this legislation I disagree with. But I have been fighting for my hometown and have been told to wait and wait and wait, and the people of my community can wait no longer. Drinking water is a basic human right, and that should be a human right exercised by the people everywhere, including the people of my hometown of Flint.…”