The top Democrat on the Senate Oversight panel has asked Republicans to re-open a probe into the Flint, Mich., water crisis and issue a subpoena to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to understand “what he knew about the crisis as it unfolded,” now that two of his appointees have been charged in the case.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the panel’s ranking member, said in a statement Tuesday the GOP-led panel prematurely ended its investigation into how officials allowed lead to contaminate the Flint water supply.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on Tuesday announced felony charges against Emergency Managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose, who were appointed by Snyder. Also charged in the case were Public Works Director Howard Croft and Utilities Administrator Daugherty Johnson.
Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in a letter sent to GOP lawmakers last week that the panel found “significant problems” at the state’s Department of Environmental Quality and “unacceptable delays” in the Environmental Protection Agency’s response to the lead contamination.
Cummings and other Democrats believe Snyder should also be questioned about his involvement.
“It is inconceivable that the House Oversight Committee rushed to close down its investigation prematurely just days ago while Governor Snyder refuses to comply with its request for documents or even conduct searches that the Committee requested,” Cummings said in a statement. “I renew my call for Chairman Chaffetz to issue a subpoena to compel Governor Snyder to produce these documents within 30 days in order to finally determine what he knew and when he knew it.”
