Yvette Clarke: “As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, I thank Mrs. Watson Coleman for her leadership, and I stand with my…”

“As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, I thank Mrs. Watson Coleman for her leadership, and I stand with my colleagues from the Michigan delegation and our colleagues throughout this House in our outrage over what has occurred and the pursuit of justice for the people of Flint. As a New Yorker, I say to myself: There, but for the grace of God, go I. We, too, in New York City faced a lead crisis when callous landlords did nothing to abate lead paint in their older housing stock. A crisis that impacted untold numbers of young New Yorkers remains with us to this very day. But then, that was the private sector. Who will speak for the marginalized and disenfranchised that depended on the State leadership of the Governor, Mr. Snyder, and his team to keep them safe from harm? The decision of the State of Michigan to change the source of water for the sake of saving money showed an utter disregard for the well- being of the people of Flint. It is a national disgrace. It is a national tragedy. This callous disregard for the poor and the vulnerable leaves us all culpable for what has happened in our Nation. {time} 1800 The timeline of events is especially unnerving. The source of Flint's water was changed in April of 2014. For nearly 1 year, complaints about the water quality were ignored by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. It took the EPA one series of tests to determine that the water was unusable, just one series of tests.…”