Daniel Kildee

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, my hometown of Flint--I am sure you have heard me talk about this before--continues to suffer in this crisis. One hundred thousand people, citizens of that city, still can't drink their water, which has been exposed to high levels of lead. That crisis is far from over. Flint families don't have access to clean drinking water. They demand--and we should provide--a response from every level of government, including the Federal Government. That is why I am pleased and appreciate the fact that Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate have come together to make a commitment to help the people of Flint. Legislation passed in both bodies provides help for Flint. Now we have to finish that work before we leave this session. Before we are Democrats or Republicans, we are Americans. We have a tradition in this country of always coming together for those who are facing a crisis, for those who are in great need. It is incumbent now upon Congress to do the same, to come together to help the people of Flint. I look forward to Democrats and Republicans coming together to do that.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the ranking member, and Chairman Royce for their work on this really important piece of legislation. For 5 years--for 5 long years--the world has witnessed this terrible tragedy unfold before our eyes. Nearly half a million Syrians have been killed--not soldiers--men, women, and children killed, 5 million Syrian citizens driven from their own country, 10 million displaced from their homes, often leaving homes that have generation after generation of history, leaving behind their legacy; and atrocities, as we have recounted, the targeting of children, the targeting of hospitals, and the targeting of schools. Clearly, this Congress can and should act, and that is why I am so pleased to be a cosponsor of this and to join my colleagues in supporting this important legislation. This legislation would bring much-needed and long overdue accountability to the Assad regime. After all, they are responsible for these horrific crimes. It would do so by imposing sanctions on those responsible and for those who are abetting these coldhearted and merciless acts. It would authorize the Department of State to do what they need to do to assist those entities investigating these terrible war crimes and to hold the Assad regime accountable. It would mandate that the U.S. Government explore every option available to it to address this horrific conflict, to do whatever we can in order to bring it to an end, and to use every tool we have available to us to stand with the Syrian people. Assad must be held accountable for this massacre--the massacre of his own people. It is also important, as we move forward with this legislation, that we pause for a moment to thank those many people who have worked for so long to get this legislation to the floor. I am talking about citizens, particularly a lot of young people who, facing incredible pain, have made it their cause to ensure that this day comes. Let's not just stand with the Syrian people against Assad but also stand with those who have brought this question to us, and validate and support their exercise of their civic responsibility and their democratic efforts to get this Congress to do the work of the American people. Our principles demand that we support this legislation. This is the American thing to do. We have to act, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues and encourage all my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans-- to speak with one voice on this matter and pass this really critical and important humanitarian legislation. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his time, and I thank the chairman for his efforts on this matter.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman. I look forward to working with the chairman on this and working to successfully get this bill out of the House today so that we can work on it with the Senate.

Mr. KILDEE. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise for the purpose of engaging Chairman Shuster in a colloquy with respect to the Kildee-Moolenaar amendment that the House will consider shortly. First, I thank him for his efforts, and for the efforts of Ranking Member DeFazio, as well as Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, and Mr. Hoyer, who late in the evening yesterday worked to reach an agreement on this amendment. The amendment authorizes $170 million for the Corps of Engineers to replace public and private infrastructure in communities such as my hometown of Flint that have received an emergency declaration due to lead contamination in their drinking water. My constituents have been waiting for the help they need for more than a year since they were told their drinking water was poisoned. This is a very important step toward getting them the help they deserve and putting this aid on the President's desk. As the chairman knows, the Senate has passed $220 million to assist communities like Flint with lead issues in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 95-3. That package includes funding for water infrastructure replacement and for programs to help address the impacts of lead exposure on children and pregnant women nationwide. It also creates a Federal advisory committee to study the effects of lead exposure on communities, and it suggests ways to reduce it. To my friend, Mr. Shuster, do I have your commitment to bridge the gap between my amendment and the Senate package so that the final bill we send to the President provides the much-needed relief to my constituents and the families of Flint?

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, again, I thank my colleagues. I hope and pray that I have strong bipartisan support for this effort. It has surely been demonstrated by my friends who have spoken. This is one of those issues that should and ought to transcend some of the divisions that often occupy this House. It is a matter simply of doing what is right for the people of my hometown and the people of this country, and it means a lot to me that so many have stood with me in this time. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to say how much I appreciate the efforts on behalf of my home community by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. As you have heard, Congressman Moolenaar, my neighbor, has been there right along. Congresswoman Miller stepped up immediately after this crisis became known and articulated a need for Federal intervention very early in the process. Mr. Huizenga obviously has been there, with roots in Flint, and has come to my community. There is not much more I can say about what Mr. Upton has been willing to do, working with me initially on legislation to reform the EPA's obligations regarding notification and now, of course, working with us to get this amendment before the House of Representatives. It broke my heart when this whole episode began, to see my own hometown, the place that has given me virtually everything that I have, go through the worst crisis that it could ever even imagine, a crisis that was a threat to its very existence. So I am grateful for the help of Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), my friend and member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time I have remaining.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is something, obviously, I have been working on for some time. It would bring urgently needed aid to my hometown of Flint, Michigan. For over a year, the Flint water crisis has been public, and we have not yet been able to act here in Congress. It has been even longer since the residents of Flint have been drinking or using water that is basically poisoned with lead--2 full years. To be clear, what happened in Flint was a failure of government at every level of government. Through this amendment, Congress can take its rightful place in fulfilling its obligation and its responsibility to help my hometown recover. The amendment would authorize $170 million to restore the safety of water infrastructure in communities like my hometown of Flint that have lead in their water. More importantly, it would create a concrete commitment from both bodies of Congress to get aid for my hometown to the President's desk. The Senate passed similar legislation by a vote of 95-3. This amendment would ensure that the House also supports communities like Flint that are suffering with this terrible problem. We have just waited an awful long time for this. We have worked very hard to get this amendment in a bipartisan fashion to the floor. I want to thank all my friends, but particularly Mr. Moolenaar, who cosponsors this amendment with me. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and understand the gentleman's comment. My point is this: Prove me wrong. Prove me wrong. You have it in your power to take up this legislation. It is not me who is blocking this legislation. I don't want to come to this conclusion. It is very difficult to, time and time again, take this question to the floor of the House and wonder why Flint is exempt. Sympathy does not get anywhere. I understand there is all sorts of sympathy for the people of Flint. Well wishes. But when it comes time to act, when it comes time to actually do something for this community, nothing.

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Hastings, so much for his kind words, for yielding, and for his unyielding support for the people of my home community. It means a lot to me. I rise in opposition to the previous question so that I can bring up something that I hoped I was going to be able to bring up through the amendment process or could have been inserted in this bill in the first place, and that is the relief for the people of Flint that, as my friend said, passed the United States Senate 95-3. And yet at every turn, the Republican leadership in this body finds a reason, some kind of an excuse, or some kind of technicality to prevent us from providing help to a whole city that has been poisoned and continues to have water that is unsafe to drink. This is a water resources bill. The Speaker said that, no, it shouldn't be in the continuing resolution, this help for Flint; it should be in WRDA. The majority leader, Mr. McCarthy, said this should come up in WRDA. So last night, I went to the Committee on Rules, offered the amendment to put the language in WRDA, and on a party line vote, of course, the answer was no, nothing for the people of Flint, a city that is being poisoned by its own water. The Federal Government has the opportunity to help. Nothing. When the Speaker said that this is where the conversation should take place on Flint, I assumed that that meant a conversation would take place and we could debate the merit of this paid-for provision to help the people of Flint. But the conversation, I suppose, that the Speaker anticipated went something like this: No, nothing for Flint, end of conversation. That is shameful. What are we here for, for God's sake? Why do we come to this place if not to do the work of the American people? We have waived the rules in this Congress--not just since I have been here, but in this 114th Congress--to make way for legislation that needs to come to the floor because it was someone's priority 249 times. Twice in this rule we waived the rules of the House of Representatives in order to get legislation to the floor. Let me ask a question. If there is ever a time when we ought to do everything we can, including waiving a point of order, it would be to take up relief for a city that is drinking poison, relief that the Senate has already passed 95-3. But what do the people of Flint get? Lipservice. Nothing. Excuses. It is a shame. This is the Congress of the United States. Let me give you a civics lesson for those of you who may be listening. The city of Flint happens to be in the United States of America. We have an obligation to all Americans. So when Mr. Hastings is confused, I share that confusion. What is it? Why is it that the majority will do backflips to bend the rules, to break the rules, to amend the rules, and to waive the rules to achieve whatever their particular goal might be? But, no, when it comes to the people of Flint, you are on your own.

Mr. KILDEE. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. KILDEE. It is fully paid for. I thank the gentleman for the question. Fully paid for.

Mr. KILDEE. So we have a fully paid-for provision. There is no excuse. It will not increase the deficit. So it does beg the question: Why? Or a better way to put it: Why not? I have to admit, Mr. Speaker, I am coming to a conclusion that I don't want to come to, that the leadership in this House, when they think about Flint or when they look at Flint, sees something different. They don't see American citizens. They don't see people in need. But there is something about this poor community, this poor majority minority community that exempts them from the kind of help that we have provided time and time again to people in crisis in this country. I hate to come to the conclusion that there is something about these people that causes this Congress to decide they don't deserve that help. That is a shame.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, last week, Republicans introduced a bill that would fund the government for 2\1/2\ months but does not include any help whatsoever for my home community of Flint, Michigan, struggling with water that was poisoned by State government--no help from Congress, despite the fact that Members of Congress, in both parties, on both sides of the aisle, have expressed their concern, have asked what they can do, and have traveled to Flint. The majority held hearings that concluded that there was clearly Federal responsibility--this is according to Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee--Federal responsibility for what took place in Flint. Yet, despite the fact that we are including important provisions to keep the government open and providing relief to people in Louisiana who are struggling, which I support, no help for Flint--despite, also, the fact that the language that we are asking to be included is language that passed the Senate 95-3 and is fully paid for. So those that oppose helping Flint can't say it is because we can't afford it, because it is fully paid for, and can't say it is a local problem, because Republicans and Democrats have already concluded that there was a Federal role. The only cost to the Federal Government is the cost of printing ink on paper to include this legislation in the continuing resolution. We have to include Flint.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) for yielding and for all of his advocacy on behalf of the people of my community and, also, of the many forgotten people across the country. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the previous question in order to bring up a vote to finally help the people of my hometown of Flint, Michigan. In 2 days, it will have been 1 year since Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha released the results of her research that showed that blood levels of the children in Flint showed significantly elevated levels of lead-- that the water that they had been drinking had poisoned them. A year later, here we stand. This Congress has not yet acted to provide any relief to a community that is facing the greatest crisis-- the greatest disaster--of its history. It has been a year since it was known that that water was too dangerous to drink. Members in this body have heard me speak about this before. It has been 2 years since, actually, the water contained lead. It took that long for the information, finally, to come to light; yet Congress has continuously failed to act. We have a way to get this done. I just ask my Republican colleagues in the House to step out of the way and allow the bipartisan legislation that has passed the Senate to have a vote so that it may be included in the legislation that this body is considering. The House can do so by following the Senate's lead, which passed legislation to provide relief to Flint by a vote of 95-3. Let me just make this clear: the United States Senate voted 95-3 to provide support for the people of Flint--and yet nothing here in this House. We have an opportunity with the continuing resolution to include that language in the continuing resolution and help the people of my hometown, again, people who yet today cannot drink their water without fear that it will poison them. This is a fully paid-for provision. There was always debate about whether we should be able to spend in case of emergency without having an offset. In this case, we have an offset. So the argument has to be that the people of Flint simply don't deserve to have their Federal Government act in their moment of greatest need. I know from conversations that I have had with Members on both sides of the aisle that that cannot be the case. I have had all sorts of expressions of sympathy. Many Members of Congress have traveled to Flint, Democrats and Republicans, and have expressed to me on an almost daily basis that they wish there was something they could do to help those poor folks. Well, you know what? Sympathy expresses sentiment, but it doesn't provide clean drinking water for the people of my hometown. We have a chance to act. Now, when this came before this body, this Congress, in the form of hearings in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, many of my Republican colleagues-- virtually every member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee--spoke up and said what a shame it was that the Federal Government played a role in the crisis that Flint is facing, that the Federal Government bore some responsibility. Now, we can argue about how much responsibility lands at the State. I think the majority of the responsibility is the State's, but I would agree that this is failure at every level of government. My Republican colleagues went so far as to call for a Cabinet member of the President to resign because the Federal responsibility was so great that a member of the President's Cabinet should step down because it was the Federal Government who bore responsibility, in part. Suddenly, when it is time to actually do something to help the people of Flint, what do we have? All of a sudden, the narrative changes. All of a sudden, what was a Federal problem with clear Federal accountability and responsibility, universally demonstrated by my friends on the other side of the aisle, when it comes time to take up a paid-for piece of legislation that will not increase the deficit but will help these poor folks who cannot drink their water, what do we get? Shuffling of their feet. Stunned silence. Nothing. Nothing. Shame. Shame. What would you do if it was your hometown? What would you do if it was your community?

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, you know what you would do. You would step to the floor of this House and you would make sure every single day you fought to get help for your community. One of the first votes I cast when I came here was to help the victims of a storm that was nowhere near my home, and I was proud to do it because they were Americans who happened to be in need. What is it about Flint? What is it about the people of Flint? Answer me. What is it that separates them, that has them in a position where their Federal Government can't come to their aid? When they can't drink the water, when the water that comes from their tap is poison and we have a chance to do something about it without increasing the Federal deficit with an offset that is already identified, I hear nothing. I hear nothing from the leadership of this House that gives any indication that the people of Flint matter at all. Shame. Shame. We ought to act, and we ought to do it now--not maybe 3 months from now, not, ``Oh, Flint, maybe we will get you in the next bill or maybe the next piece of legislation.'' Shame. We should bring it up now.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, in the next week or so, we will pass a spending bill to fund the government for the next 10 weeks, and it is absolutely critical that we include in that legislation funding to help my hometown of Flint recover from the terrible water crisis that it is facing. That should be included in the continuing resolution. A city of 100,000 people, for 2 years, can't drink their water and are still dealing with the effects of lead poisoning. Hearings have been held in Congress, multiple committees, lots of sympathy, and Members asking me: What can I do? It is real simple. The Senate passed legislation that would provide relief for the people of Flint, 95-3, bipartisan legislation, paid for--let me emphasize--paid for. We have an offset. Yet, House negotiators, on the continuing resolution, continue to take the position that we will consider relief for all sorts of issues, and we will get a spending bill, but nothing for Flint. Take yes for an answer. When you asked us to come up with an offset to deal with this terrible public health crisis, we came up with an offset. So to my colleagues, my God, at long last, do the right thing. Help this community that is struggling. We have come up with a way to get it done. There is no excuse for not getting it done. It has to happen now.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, it was reported that, instead of doing what is necessary to fix the Flint water crisis, State of Michigan officials are, instead, focusing on disenfranchising further the people of my hometown. Through sleight of hand and bureaucratic maneuvers, they are effectively preventing the people of Flint from suing the State government for the harm that has been caused by the State government in my hometown. Just as when the State installed emergency managers to take over the city of Flint, they are now using obscure legal wrangling to silence the voices of the people in my community and the people that they elected from representing them in a court of law, from going to court to seek justice, to seek solutions. So, instead of fixing the problem, not only have they denied the people in Flint the resources necessary to solve the problem that they created but they are denying those very same people access to the judicial process to seek redress. This is outrageous; it is wrong; and it has to stop.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed.

Mr. KILDEE

Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.