The decision on spending federal funds to help the residents of Flint, Michigan following the massive water crisis almost caused a government shutdown. The federal government was on the brink of a shutdown come October 1st if a stopgap spending measure was not addressed by members of Congress.
This legislation extends government spending until December allowing for 2017 spending measures to be discussed. In a late night vote Wednesday, members of the House approved the bill 342-85 and members of the Senate approved it 77-21. Democrats played hardball this week by promising not to approve the spending bill if Republicans didn’t include aid for Flint. The delay came from Republican leaders like Sen. Mike Lee(R-Utah) who were against using federal funds to address the problem.
Two weeks ago the Senate approved $220 million for Flint along with other communities that were affected by the lead contamination water. This money was also included in a wide-ranging water projects bill, although that didn’t satisfy many.
It took House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to strike a deal that would allow a vote to include $170 million in Flint relief to the House version of the water bill. With the promise of a vote, the actual money for Flint will come from separate legislation to be crafted when Congress returns from recess in November.
This seems to be a step in the right direction for a city, almost two years later, is still fighting to have clean water.
“We have sent a message of hope to the people of Flint,” Pelosi said Wednesday. “While we preferred to deliver those funds to the children in this [spending] bill, we are at least on a path to meaningful action.”
