{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://dankildee.house.gov/transcript-congressman-dan-kildees-remarks-in-support-of-flint-aid-package-in-budget-bill/", "Transcript: Congressman Dan Kildees Remarks in Support of Flint Aid Package in Budget Bill", "2016-12-08", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MI", "Dan Kildee", "K000380", "dankildee.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Transcript: Congressman Dan Kildee\u2019s Remarks in Support of Flint Aid Package in Budget Bill \n\t\t\t\t\tDecember 8, 2016\n\t\t\t\t\tCongressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives urging his colleagues to support the Continuing Resolution, the short term budget bill, which includes $170 million in federal aid directed at helping Flint recover from the city\u2019s ongoing water crisis\nBelow is a transcript of Congressman Kildee\u2019s remarks, as delivered:\n\u201cThank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my friend and colleague, the Ranking Member for yielding and for her work on behalf of my hometown of Flint. She has been one of the strong advocates. \n\u201cNo piece of legislation that I have yet seen in the four years I\u2019ve been in Congress that has come before this floor is perfect. And this bill is included. But the people of Flint, the people of my hometown, today cannot drink their water. Because of action by the state government and frankly as we know, failure of the federal government through the EPA to alert the citizens of Flint to the crisis, to the fact that their water had been poisoned, has caused this community to face the biggest crisis that it\u2019s faced in all its years.\n\u201cI am a product of Flint, Michigan. I grew up in Flint, everything I have, everything I am, I owe to that community. And it has faced some terrible struggles over the years. Loss of manufacturing jobs \u2013 90 percent of those manufacturing jobs gone. The loss of half of its population. Blight and abandonment. It\u2019s a community that just began to rebuild itself when this water crisis has caused Flint to face the toughest time it has ever faced. It needs every level of government to step up to provide relief.\n\u201cThis bill includes necessary funding to put Flint back on the path that allows its citizens to have the basic human right of clean drinking water. \n\u201cSo I ask my colleagues as we go forward, obviously consider all the elements of all legislation. But also to keep in mind this is the last day of this session of Congress in the House of Representatives. This is our last chance to provide the much needed help to my hometown.\n\u201cThis is why I was sent to Congress. To fight for the people that I represent. To make sure they have what they need. And to make sure at this moment of their greatest need, that every level of government responds to them, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ll support this bill and I\u2019d hope my colleagues would join me in that. Thank you.\u201d\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://dankildee.house.gov/transcript-congressman-dan-kildees-remarks-in-support-of-flint-aid-package-in-budget-bill/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4934209175407887, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}