Congressional Lead Contamination Should Spur Flint Fix
WASHINGTON – Members of Congress may be gaining a new perspective on the plight of Flint, MI residents with the news of elevated lead levels in water from the Cannon House Office Building, where many lawmakers have staff offices.
Following is a statement from Natural Resources Defense Council Midwest Director Henry Henderson:
“Congress has failed to act in the face of the Flint water crisis and sadly, the city still desperately needs resources, a full two years after its water was poisoned. Perhaps the news that lawmakers’ own offices in DC have been hit with lead drinking water contamination will spark an urgency to deal with the issue that has otherwise been lacking. Everyone deserves clean water: Congressional offices shouldn’t get preferential treatment over the households of Flint. We hope both sorry situations will be addressed soon.
“The House of Representatives is on recess right now, but the people in Flint cannot escape the water problems in their midst. Legislators like Chairman Fred Upton should be particularly embarrassed about doing nothing to get aid to his home state of Michigan while witnessing another serious instance of this problem near his office in Washington.”
NRDC’s federal lawsuit to bring safe, clean water back to Flint, filed in conjunction with ACLU of Michigan, Concerned Pastors for Social Action and local residents, continues: https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/160127
Yesterday, NRDC released a groundbreaking new report, “What’s in Your Water? Flint and Beyond,” which finds that more than 18 million Americans got their drinking water from systems with lead violations in 2015 alone: https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/160628
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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at http://www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.