The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill requiring federal environmental regulators to act faster regarding the lead contamination in drinking water. The bill passed 416-2 in the wake of Flint's drinking water crisis.
According to Yahoo! News, the House approved the legislation to clarify the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to notify the public about the danger from lead in their drinking water. This is considered as the first action by Congress to respond to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
The approved bill would direct the EPA to give notice to the residents and health departments if the amount of lead found in a public water system requires action. But it will be in the absence of notification from the state.
Representative Dan Kildee, D-Mich., stated that the notification bill would not have prevented the crisis in his hometown. But then, he called it a necessary first step to prevent a similar crisis in other cities.
Kildee urged lawyers to consider separate legislation he has introduced that would spend $765 million to help solve the water crisis in Flint. The bill would help Flint fix and replace lead-contaminated pipes and provide health and educational support for children poisoned by lead-contaminated water.
As reported by Reuters, in 2014, under a state-appointed emergency manager, Flint, a city of 100,000, replaced water supplies to the Flint River, from Detroit's system as part of a plan to save money. The more corrosive river water leached lead from aging pipes. The said plan resulted in thousands of children ingesting dangerous levels of lead, a toxin that can harm the brain and cause other health problems.
At the time, Flint was under state emergency financial management, and the city council voted 7-1 to approve the decision. Flint officials also made a testimony that they need federal money to help address the short and long-term consequences of lead in Flint's water supply, as noted by Bills Insider.
The Department of Agriculture stated on Thursday that it would temporarily allow Michigan to use funds from its Women, Infants and Children program for low income citizens to conduct lead testing. The department estimated some 3,800 people could get tested in this way.
Meanwhile, other measures in Congress to provide Flint with millions of dollars to help deal with the crisis still face an uncertain future. With that, other measures also suffer as Democrats and Republicans struggled to agree on where the funds would come from.
