Sen. Ted Cruz temporarily stopped the deal to send federal aid to Flint, Mich., to deal the city’s lead-contaminated water to review the bill and will not prevent it from going to the floor, his staff said Thursday night.
A Cruz spokesman said the GOP presidential candidate wanted to review the bill before it went to the floor, which is why he put a hold on it.
“He will not prevent it from moving forward,” the spokesman said.
The deal makes $100 million available to any state experiencing a drinking water emergency, $70 million to back secured loans to upgrade clean water and drinking infrastructure, and $50 million in funding for health programs to address and prevent the effects of lead exposure.
A $250 million Department of Energy program for advanced vehicles would be used to pay for the package.
The deal was introduced as a part of the bipartisan Energy Modernization Act, but would be removed from that bill and attached to a House-passed bill requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to notify the public when there is lead in the drinking water.
Multiple other Republican senators have put holds on the deal as well, delaying it and the larger energy bill from passing the upper chamber until at least next week.
Blocking the deal to help the beleaguered Michigan city could have hurt Cruz in his presidential quest. Republican candidates will debate in Detroit next week and the Michigan primary is March 8.
Discussions about sending federal aid to Flint stalled the energy bill earlier this month and resulted in the Michigan Senate delegation entering into negotiations with Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Senators can block a piece of legislation from coming to the floor by placing a hold on a bill until their concerns about the legislation are worked out.
Flint residents currently can’t drink water from the city’s water supply because it is tainted with lead. Water from the Flint River is so acidic that it is causing lead to leach off the pipes and into the drinking water.
The city switched water sources in April 2014, and a state of emergency was declared by the state in January. The Michigan Legislature has approved $70 million in funding for the city.
