President Obama commented on the emergency water situation in Flint, Michigan today, during a speech at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources in Detroit.
Obama didn’t visit Flint to highlight the problem, but spent some time today talking about the problem of lead in the water.
“I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kid’s health could be at risk,” Obama said. He reminded the audience that he declared a federal emergency in Flint last weekend, and was working with local officials to send federal resources to help fix the problem.
He also said that he met with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver in the Oval Office yesterday, and vowed to “have her back” as she worked to address the problem.
“It is a reminder of why you can’t shortchange basic services that we provide to our people and that we together provide as a government to make sure that the public health and safety is preserved,” he said.
The mayor has blamed Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder for the problem, who has apologized for failing to respond quickly enough.
“People will ask, ‘Who do you blame?’” she told the New York Times. “Well, we know the buck stops with the governor. We know that, but if we want to start pointing fingers, there’s enough blame to go all the way around.”
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