[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4975-H4976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REPUBLICANS ABANDON AMERICANS

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, today, the Republicans are leaving 
Washington for almost 2 months--the longest congressional summer recess 
in nearly 60 years--and are abandoning Americans, who are counting on 
us to do what we have to do to protect them.
  There are serious public health crises in this country, and, right 
now, the GOP-led Congress continues to fail to do anything at all to 
protect the basic functions of government--to protect human life, to 
protect Americans.
  Families in my own hometown of Flint, Michigan, today, can't drink 
their water. They don't have access to

[[Page H4976]]

clean drinking water. Rather than bringing up my bill, the Families of 
Flint Act, which would provide relief to those folks back home, who 
should be able to depend on their Federal Government when they are at 
their moment of greatest need, the Republican-led Congress is not only 
recessing but is recessing a day early--a day in which we could have 
taken up legislation to help the people of Flint. We could have taken 
up legislation to deal with the Zika virus. We could have taken up 
legislation for commonsense gun safety policy.
  This is what the Congress is charged with doing. This is our job. We 
should be here on the floor of the House doing it. I am pleased to be 
here with my colleagues, who are ready to go to work in order to deal 
with these big problems that our country faces.

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