Upton & Pallone Announce Intent to Hold Bipartisan Hearing on Flint Drinking Water Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC – Bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today announced their intention to hold a hearing in March to examine issues related to the ongoing drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Building on the information the committee has been collecting from EPA and the state of Michigan, the committee will seek to gain a comprehensive understanding of the short-and long-term implications of this crisis to the public health and the environment.

To date, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) have sent letters to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality demanding further information regarding the urgent drinking water crisis, and Chairman Upton and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) recently introduced the bipartisan Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act.

Upton and Pallone stated, “The situation in Flint, Michigan, is unacceptable at all levels and we still have a lot to learn. Next month’s hearing seeks to build a better understanding of what we can do to ensure that a crisis of these proportions never happens again, as well as what needs to be done to address the public health and water infrastructure issues in Flint.”