President Barack Obama described the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as a “terrible tragedy”.
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Speaking at a joint General Motors-United Auto Workers facility, Obama opened his speech decrying the water contamination calamity, which has spurred accusations of government negligence and cover-ups.
“If I was a parent up there I would be beside myself that my kids’ health could be at risk”, Obama told a crowd in Detroit. Lurie is the deputy secretary for preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services.
President Barack Obama was a little picky at Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria and Brewery in Detroit’s Cass Corridor Wednesday. He’s traveling Wednesday to Detroit.
The president joked he will be looking for a new vehicle next year after he’s out of office, and there’s no place better to browse for one than the Detroit auto show.
The Obama administration also provided additional capital to help Chrysler and GM continue operating as they restructured operations prior to and during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.
The White House noted the auto industry was on track to meet targets to double fuel efficiency and cut emissions by half by 2025. “But remember, these are the same folks that would’ve let this industry go under”.
“You guys remember, ‘Get Shorty, ‘ right?” “Because when you ignore the progress we’ve made, then you’re not going to make good choices about where we need to go in the future”. He met with Flint’s mayor the day before and promised federal help.
Remarking on his meeting with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver Tuesday at the White House, Obama said “I told her that we are going to have her back”.
An independent task force appointed by Snyder blamed a “culture of passivity” in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for misreading federal rules on toxic metals in drinking water and failing to insist that corrosion controls be applied to the city’s drinking water drawn from the Flint River.
The revelation has led to accusations of government negligence and political cover-ups. But Flint did not return to Detroit water until October 2015 after tests showed elevated levels of lead, which can cause brain damage and other health problems, in Flint tap water and in some children.
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Detroit’s M-1 Rail line along Woodward Avenue also received a $25-million grant and the Obama administration has directed more than $130 million through its Hardest Hit Fund toward tearing down thousands of blighted properties in Detroit, with more expected to come.
