White House on Flint Pollution: Obama ‘Absolutely Determined to Figure Out What Went Wrong, Generally Speaking’
by Susan Jones, CNSnews:
President Obama is “deeply engaged” in efforts to help Flint, Michigan recover from its lead-contaminated drinking water, a White House spokesman told reporters on Wednesday.
Despite residents’ complaints, the problem was ignored for more than a year by all levels of government.
“The president is absolutely determined to figure out what went wrong, generally speaking,” spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters, even as he blamed state and local officials for allowing polluted drinking water to flow into residents’ taps for more than a year.
“And I know that a lot of this is under investigation, so I’m a little bit hindered in what I can say. But all I can say is, broadly speaking, the president is concerned that something like this could happen in the greatest country on Earth, and that’s why he’s determined to resolve it as soon as possible.”
Speaking in Detroit on Wednesday, President Obama briefly addressed the crisis in Flint, 75 miles north of where he was standing:
“I am very proud of what I’ve done as President,” he said. “But the only job that’s more important to me is the job of father. And I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids’ health could be at risk. And that’s why, over the weekend, I declared a federal emergency in Flint to send more resources on top of the assistance that we’ve already put on the ground. We’ve designated a federal coordinator to make sure the people of Flint get what they need from their country…”
