On the recordOctober 24, 2017
I appreciate the gentleman yielding, and particularly for this thoughtful amendment. I am from Flint; born and raised in Flint. I represent Flint. I was here on the floor and I was the one pushing for the legislation that the gentleman on the other side mentioned that provided $120 million to help offset the cost of this terrible tragedy. When I introduced the first legislation, we calculated what the total direct and indirect cost was: $1.5 billion. Now, here is the point: again, we ought not put a community like Flint in the position of having to depend on this Congress to fully fund the total cost of that recovery, or another community that might be facing a similar situation. If the gentleman is sincere that Congress can act to help offset the incredible indirect costs that my home community is facing, then I would suggest the gentleman join me in my effort to do just that. So far, Congress has not done that. The notion that we would exempt the people of Flint from access to the resources that could be determined by a court as being part of the justice that they deserve is not an act that we ought to engage in. Flint, as sad as this case is, is not an anomaly. Flint is a warning, and when we need to make sure we heed that warning.
