Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has told the House he won’t testify before an all-Democratic committee investigating the Flint, Mich., water crisis, a decision that prompted Democrats to say Snyder was ducking the issue.
Snyder, a Republican, told the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee he won’t be among the witnesses at a Feb. 10 hearing titled “The Flint Water Crisis: Lessons for Protecting America’s Children.”
Many Democrats have blamed Snyder for the crisis because Snyder appointed the Flint emergency manager who switched the city’s water source to the Flint River, which caused lead to leach into the water.
Democrats were angered when Republicans did not call Snyder to testify last week at House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing last week. Since Democrats are not in the majority and don’t have control over official standing committees, they scheduled their own hearing, but they don’t have the authority to compel witnesses to testify.
“Governor Snyder’s refusal to show up and testify is deeply disappointing,” Rep. Dan Kildee, R-Mich., who represents Flint, said in a statement. “His administration’s policies led to this man-made crisis and he needs to answer questions so that the whole truth can be found. Flint families deserve answers and immediate solutions from the state about what is being done to make things right for the people of Flint.”
Republicans plan more House hearings on the Flint water crisis but have so far resisted Democratic demands to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aide. Many Republicans have said the Environmental Protection Agency also deserves a large share of the blame, as the EPA failed to notify people about the problem even though it was aware of it for months.
