Rick Snyder on Flint Water Crisis: ‘This Was a Failure of Gov’t at All Levels’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

“Chairman Chaffetz, ranking member Cummings, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the crisis in Flint, and the actions we are taking to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Let me be blunt. This was a failure of government at all levels, local, state, and federal officials. We all failed the families of Flint. This isn’t about politics nor partisanship. I’m not going to point fingers or shift blame. There’s plenty of that to share, and neither will help the people of Flint. Not a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn’t weigh on my mind, the questions I should have asked, the answers I should have demanded, how I could have prevented this. That’s why I’m so committed to delivering permanent long-term solutions and clean, safe drinking water that every Michigan citizen deserves. Today I’ll report what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and what we will do to deliver real results and real relief to the families of Flint. But before going through the facts, I want to express my profound gratitude for the help and heroism of professor Marc 1ñ dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Flint resident Leanne Walters. They were among the first to sound the alarm about the failures of government and the crisis afflicting the Flint community. Here are the facts. From the day the city of Flint began using the Flint river as an interim water supply on April 25th, 2014, and repeatedly after that, the department of environmental quality assured us that Flint’s water was safe. It wasn’t. A water expert at the federal EPA tried to raise the alarm in February 2015, and he was silenced. It was on October 1st, 2015 that I learned that our state experts were wrong. Flint’s water had dangerous levels of lead. On that day, I took immediate action. 

First we quickly reconnected to the Detroit water supply to begin sealing the damaged pipes. Second, I ordered the immediate distribution of water filters and extensive blood level testing in schools and homes to identify those at highest risk so they could receive health care, nutrition and additional support. Third, we deployed $67 million to address both short term needs and long-term solutions. Our focus and our priority is on both short term health and long-term safety. This includes diagnostic testing, nurse visits and environmental assessments in the home to treat any child with high lead levels. This is only the beginning. Right now we’re in the appropriations process for an additional $165 million to deliver permanent long-term solutions. I urge congress to pass the bipartisan bill for aiding Flint immediately so we can further protect the health and safety of Flint residents and families from identifying every pipe that must be replaced to providing long-term medical support. We’re working with local leaders like Karen Weaver and representatives here in Washington to deliver the assistance our citizens deserve.

 We are holding those who failed accountable, and we’re being open with the public about how these failures came about, including releasing my e-mails and my staff e-mails related to this water crisis. We are in the process of publicly releasing relevant documents from the state agencies involved, so the people will have an open, honest assessment of what happened and what we’re doing to fix it. We also began a thorough investigation of what went wrong. We’ve uncovered systematic failures at the Michigan department of environmental quality. The fact is, bureaucrats created a culture that valued technical competence over common sense, and the result was the lead was leaching into the residents’ water. That’s why I’m committed to a complete and comprehensive change in state government that puts public health and safety first and why I’ve called for a thorough investigation of the Michigan department of health and human services by the auditor general and inspector general. We’re taking responsibility in Michigan, and we’re taking action and that’s absolutely essential here in Washington, too. Inefficient, ineffective and unaccountable bureaucrats at the EPA allowed this disaster to continue unnecessarily. I’m glad to be sitting next to the administrator from the EPA because all must acknowledge our responsibility and be held accountable. I do want to thank Miguel del Foral, a water specialist at the epa, who spoke up early about the crisis, tragically his superiors at the EPA told local leaders in Flint to ignore his call for action. 

The truth is, there are many communities with potentially dangerous lead problems, and if the EPA and the DEQ do not change and the dumb and dangerous federal lead and copper rule is not changed, then this tragedy will befall other American cities. Professor Edwards has been sounding this alarm for years and I look forward to joining with him to address this failure of government. I’m grateful to have been elected to serve the people of Michigan. I understand their anger. I’ve been humbled by this experience and I’m going to make Flint and every community in Michigan a better place to live. We have a lot to learn and we have a lot to do. I close with a simple plea — partner with me in fixing this, not just for the people of Flint, but for the people all over the country. Ranking member Cummings is right. The American people — this is America, and this should never have happened. The American people deserve rules that make sense and professionals to enforce them who know that health and safety are urgent matters. I can make sure that happens in Michigan. You can make sure it happens for every American. Thank you and I look forward to your questions.”