Senate Democrats block energy bill in impasse over Flint
US News
Senate Democrats block energy bill in impasse over Flint
Senate Democrats blocked a comprehensive energy bill on Thursday after majority Republicans balked over hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency federal aid to Flint, Mich., to fix and replace the city’s lead-contaminated pipes. Democrats proposed a $600 million aid package for Flint last week, but agreed earlier this week to cut that proposal in half. However, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican, said it was premature to provide funds for Flint when state officials have not fully assessed the city’s needs.
The fact of the matter is, the state of Michigan and the city of Flint don’t yet know what they need to do to fix the problem or how much it will cost.
Sen. John Cornyn
Meanwhile, emails among Michigan state officials show they knew about an uptick in Legionnaires’ disease and that it could be linked to problems with Flint water many months before Gov. Rick Snyder said he received information of the outbreak. Snyder said he only learned about the rise in Legionnaires’ in January, but emails released today show his principal adviser knew about the outbreak and its possible links to the water last March. Michigan has approved $37 million in emergency funding for Flint for the current fiscal year, and Snyder is expected to propose an additional $30 million in state funding to help Flint residents pay their water bills. The water contamination crisis has stirred questions about whether officials would have acted sooner if the community were wealthier and the population predominantly white.
One hundred thousand people in Flint, Mich., have been poisoned, and Republicans do nothing. … Nine thousand little children … have been poisoned. Still, Senate Republicans refuse to help.
Harry Reid, Senate Democratic leader
