Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth spent the early part of February railing against the water crisis in Flint, Mich., where high levels of lead were found in the drinking water.
On Feb. 3, Duckworth signed a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz, requesting that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and “key emergency managers” testify before Congress about the situation in Flint. The letter mentioned the Safe Drinking Water Act, a bill that was amended in the wake of the crisis, a vote that Duckworth skipped.
That same day, Duckworth tweeted out a link to the letter stating that Gov. Snyder “must testify about his actions in the #FlintWaterCrisis, so we can find out the whole truth.” The next day, Duckworth tweeted that she planned to join Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Dan Kildee, D-Mich., in cosponsoring a bipartisan bill to help residents recover from the water crisis. Duckworth followed through on adding her name to the bill’s co-sponsorship.
But then, on Feb. 10, the day the bill was to be voted on, Duckworth skipped the vote in order to attend a speech being given by President Obama about the “poisonous political climate” in Washington. Duckworth was Obama’s invited guest, according to Politico, but it meant she would miss the vote on the Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act she had made such a big deal about.
Duckworth was one of six Democrats and nine Republicans who missed voting on the bill, which overwhelmingly passed.
In response to a Washington Examiner inquiry, Duckworth spokesman Ben Garmisa provided the following statement:
Duckworth is currently running in a contested primary for the chance to take on Republican Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk in November.
Updated to include a statement from Duckworth’s office.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
