Kildee Bill to Support Flint Registry Advances to Full House

Press Release

Congressman Dan Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today applauded the advancement of his bipartisan legislation to support the Flint Registry for the next decade through the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 

Kildee's legislation, the Flint Registry Reauthorization Act, would provide federal support for the Registry over the next decade. Every Republican and Democrat in Michigan's congressional delegation supports the bipartisan legislation. The bill now moves to the full U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. 

"The Flint Registry plays a critical role helping families and children exposed to lead and is working to reduce lead contamination in other communities," said Congressman Kildee. "I am pleased that our legislation has the support of every Republican and Democrat in Michigan's congressional delegation. And I'm grateful to Chairman Pallone and Chairwoman Eshoo for their support of this important initiative. I will continue working with Democrats and Republicans to support the Flint Registry and promote public health."

In December 2016, Congress passed federal aid for Flint families, championed by Kildee, to help during the city's water crisis. This law, supported by Republicans and Democrats, also included the establishment of the Flint Registry. The Registry is a community-based effort to identify individuals exposed to lead and connect families and children to health care and other community resources. To date, over 20,000 people have registered, and the Registry has completed 30,000 referrals for critical services like health care, nutrition, early education and lead elimination. Since its establishment, Kildee has secured additional federal funding to continue the Registry's operations.

"The Flint Registry has proven to be a powerful tool to understand, measure, and improve the lives of not only the Flint community, but communities everywhere that continue to suffer from preventable lead exposure. I applaud Congressman Kildee's steadfast leadership for continuing to champion this critical public health infrastructure in Congress," said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Director, MSU--Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative.

"Our organization has been a consistent partner of the Flint Registry from the start and will continue to participate to assure the best health outcomes for our community. Since we are located in Flint , we understand the Registry is not just a resource for the people and organizations we serve , but also for our staff who consumed the contaminated water during that time. The Registry's multifaceted services are an essential to address the long term needs of our community's recovery from lead exposure. We are thankful for Congressman Kildee's leadership on this legislation that will ensure the Flint Registry can continue supporting the Flint community for many years to come," said Lawrence Reynolds, M.D., Greater Flint Health Coalition's Interim President & CEO.

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