WASHINGTON – A group of Democrats and Obama administration officials are urging the Republican-led Congress to include Flint aid in either the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 or the government spending measure that must be passed by the end of the week to avoid a government shutdown.
The Democrats warned at a press conference on Tuesday that if $220 million to address Flint's more than two-year-old water crisis and other local water emergencies is not included in the House and final water bill or the continuing resolution, then they will block the CR.
Later in the day, Senate Democrats followed through, blocking the Republican-proposed CR in a 45 to 55 vote that fell short of the required 60 votes needed to move forward.
Funds for Flint were included in the WRDA approved by the Senate on Sept. 15, but are not in the version of the bill to be taken up by the House this week.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a Flint native, said during a news conference Tuesday that the he "would not tolerate" the exclusion of the water crisis funding from the two major bills.
"It is my position that we will not support a continuing resolution that does not include Flint," Kildee said. "The question that Speaker [Paul] Ryan has to answer is why are they willing to take us to the point of shutting down the government of the U.S. to provide people in Flint from getting help that's already paid for?"
The House was scheduled to begin consideration of the WRDA (H.R. 5303) on Tuesday. The House Rules Committee voted Monday to send the WRDA without the Flint aid to the House floor later this week.
Several House Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said last week that they believe that the federal government should not be responsible for providing aid to Flint, which has experienced a lead contamination in its drinking water supply since April 2014. Rather, Ryan said, it should be managed at the local level.
The CR proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would fund the federal government through December and would also appropriate $500 million to address the widespread flooding situation in Louisiana. But it does not include any aid for Flint. The stopgap spending bill must be passed by the end of Friday when fiscal 2016 ends to avert a federal government shutdown on begin Oct. 1, the beginning of fiscal 2017.
The Flint provision, introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., would provide a total of $220 million in funding to Flint and any other community experiencing a water crisis, and would also provide $100 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that would be available to states that have declared drinking water emergencies.
Stabenow said Tuesday that she fully supports making funding available to Louisiana for recovery from flooding, but noted that the Flint aid would be paid for by using funds from the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program.
"We have offered something that is totally paid for," Stabenow said. "The Louisiana effort is not paid for. There is no excuse -- none -- for not including this provision."
Lawmakers who also spoke at the press conference in favor of the Flint funds included Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., as well as Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich.
In a statement of administration policy regarding the WRDA, the Obama administration urged Congress to pass the Flint aid and said it remains committed to working with Congress on bipartisan legislation to address the current water resources issues.
"The administration believes that the Congress should quickly pass targeted funding to support Flint, Michigan, whether in the Water Resources Development Act or another vehicle," officials wrote.
The $9.4 billion Senate WRDA would make the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) permanent and would provide $70 million for credit subsidies to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to make secured loans for infrastructure investments.
It passed Senate easily by a vote of 95-3. Boxer, who introduced the Senate WRDA bill with Sen Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., in April, said the House can't "pick and choose" where to send emergency funding, suggesting it be added to either the WRDA or the CR.
"The continuing resolution put forward fails the people of Flint, Michigan," Boxer said. "It does nothing for the families of Flint that have been suffering over the past two years from a manmade disaster."
