[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 28, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   WELCOMING DR. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA TO THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to have Dr. Mona Hanna-
Attisha, the daughter of Iraqi-American scientists, the physician who 
helped expose the Flint water crisis, as my guest at the joint session 
and the address by the President tonight.
  Simply put, Dr. Mona, as her patients call her, is a hero. Her 
persistence exposed a terrible manmade crisis that poisoned my 
hometown, and she has been an incredible partner in the fight for 
resources to help fix the problems in Flint. Her personal story of 
coming to America from Iraq reminds us of the many important 
contributions that immigrants make.
  In Donald Trump's world, though, Dr. Mona may not have been there for 
Flint kids. She is an Iraqi immigrant. In Donald Trump's world, she 
would actually have been turned away. She would not have been the hero 
to thousands of Flint families.
  She is the epitome of what makes America great and what it means to 
be an American citizen. She stood up for what was right. She exposed 
the facts in Flint, Michigan. In the face of bullying, she spoke truth 
to power, and she persisted. She is a hero. She is what makes this 
country great. She is what is good about the United States of America--
an immigrant to this country who stood for the people of my hometown.
  She is a message, and her presence here today is intended to send a 
message to the President of the United States and to the rest of the 
country that that is what makes America great. She adds to the fabric 
of this country, and I am grateful to have her here today.

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