Why Dan Kildee & Detroit Land Bank Authority Call For Conyers To Resign

Dan Kildee & Bill Clinton

Dan Kildee & Detroit Land Bank Authority join the ranks, with Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Rice, Mike Quigley, and Raul Grijalva for John Conyers to resign from Congress.

Dan Kildee was the one who spearheaded the creation of the land bank in Michigan.

And now we know why Dan Kildee & Amy Hovey want Conyers to resign.

Conyers steps down from committee post amid harassment claims

Congressman John Conyers has stepped down from his powerful perch as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. His colleague in the House, Representative Dan Kildee, reacts to this development 

What is a Land Bank? Dan Kildee, Co-Founder and President Amy Hovey, Co-Founder and Senior Vice-President... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Amy Hovey is the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Capacity Building for Community Progress. Prior to helping launch the organization, Amy founded The Protogenia Group LLC in 2002, after working with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for six years. At the consulting firm, Amy provided technical assistance in several areas including organizational development, leadership development, board governance, administrative management, and program and real estate development. She also provided support to Genesee County in the creation of the Genesee County Land Bank Authority. In addition to technical assistance, Amy has extensive training and meeting facilitation experience including an annual fifteen-day training program on comprehensive real estate development.

Prior to Protogenia, Amy was a Program Director with the Michigan State office of the Local Initiative Support Corporation. During her time with LISC, Amy worked with local community development corporations, government agencies, and for profit business, promoting collaboration among community organizations, to revitalize urban neighborhoods. Amy worked closely with several non-profits engaged in commercial corridor revitalization utilizing the Main Street approach. She completed analysis of organizations requesting loans, grants and training. Amy created and facilitated several group trainings to build capacity of non-profit staff and boards. In addition, she provided technical assistance to non-profits on a variety of topics.

Amy joined LISC after four years in private business, working in management, finance and community relations with First of America Bank.

Amy is also part of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and it seems so is Quicken Loans.

It also seems that there are many U.S. Representatives and Senators who are part of these land bank organizations.

It also seems Dan Kildee & his Land Bank "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) are the ones behind the Flint Water Crisis.

But, hey, what do I know?

Stay tuned.  We are just getting started.

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CONYERS, KILDEE, and LAWRENCE Reintroduces Bill To Stop Emergency Managers: Three Years After Disastrous Flint Water Switch

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Dan Kildee (D-MI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), and 17 cosponsors, today reintroduced the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities. Last week marks three years since the disastrous water switch that resulted in lead contamination in Flint, Michigan.  

Recently, Congressman Conyers, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Cedric Richmond, sent a letter to President Trump questioning the Administration’s commitment to the Flint area in light of proposed budget cuts to EPA and other agencies.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Three years later, the people of Flint continue to suffer from the misguided and disastrous choices of an emergency financial manager they did not elect to represent them. We cannot undo the damage already done by the lead-poisoned water in Flint or fix the harm already caused by the hazardous conditions in Detroit’s public schools.  But we must continue to stand together and make sure the unaccountable emergency financial managers responsible for these disasters – and the legal system that empowered them – are not permitted to inflict further harm on our citizens or our constitutional rights. I will continue to introduce the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act until its passage. We must ensure that what happened in Flint, will never happen again.” said Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13).

“Our state’s emergency financial manager law has hurt Flint and families throughout Michigan,” Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) said. 

“Unelected emergency financial managers made the decisions that led to the Flint water crisis. Their failed governing philosophy is solely focused on the bottom-line and cutting cost, often at the expense of people. Michigan families and their elected officials – not appointed and unaccountable emergency financial managers – should be in charge in the communities that they live in. This bill will help ensure what happened in Flint does not happen to other communities.”

“The Flint Water Crisis was a man-made disaster, and the people of Flint needed strong and responsible leadership to do their job and work in the best interest of the community they serve.  This never happened.  The people suffered, and they continue to suffer; while the leaders who caused this disaster hold no accountability for their actions.  This is shameful for the state of Michigan and shameful for America. It is imperative that the citizens of this great country are not denied their right to have a government that is elected and accountable.  We need immediate reform of the lack of accountability with emergency financial managers and we simply cannot allow a tragedy like this to ever happen again,” said Rep. Brenda Lawrence (MI-14).

There are many cities in financial distress across our nation still struggling to recover from the Great Recession.  While most states work cooperatively with their cities to foster economic stability and growth, others such as the state of Michigan, use draconian, autocratic laws that usurp local elected officials and replace them with unaccountable political appointees – typically known as emergency financial managers – who, through their vast powers, can jeopardize the health and safety of those who live and work in these struggling cities. 

For example, Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is also in financial distress, is now dealing with similar issues as it struggles under the control of an unaccountable state appointed overseer with powers similar to those available to Michigan’s emergency financial managers.  Last month, that city’s police union filed a lawsuit in response to the state’s announced intention to slash pay and benefit cuts in violation of the police union’s contract, claiming that these “cuts could harm public safety and the state takeover law is unconstitutional because it impairs their contract rights.

Earlier this year, the state also proposed a 25 percent reduction in compensation for that city’s firefighters’ union members.

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act would authorize the U.S. Attorney General to withhold five percent of the law enforcement funds that would otherwise be allocated to a state under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne-JAG) if the Attorney General determines that the state-appointed emergency financial manager fails to protect against the following six abuses: discriminatory impact on voting, conflicts of interest, mismanagement, and abuse of discretion, harm to public health, unilateral rejection of other contracts, and lack of notice to affected communities who cannot provide comment.

The objective of the legislation is not to deny Byrne-JAG grant funds, but rather to incentivize the states to protect their citizens against these risks and abuses when emergency financial managers are appointed.  However, if in the event the funds are withheld, they are directly reallocated to the local government for which an emergency financial manager is appointed. 

The Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act was introduced with support from the following original cosponsors: Representatives Brenda Lawrence (D-MI); Dan Kildee (D-MI); Karen Bass (D-CA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Eddie Bernice  Johnson (D-TX), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

This legislation is identical to H.R. 4754, the “Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016,” introduced in the 114th Congress and supported by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among others.

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CONYERS: Our Water Infrastructure Deficit is the Real Crisis

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Politicians nationwide are neglecting one of the most pressing challenges of our generation: an unprecedented and ever-increasing deficit. If left unchecked, it will only grow in severity and continue to saddle our children and grandchildren with its devastating effects. It is a deficit that can only be addressed with decisive action from our nation’s leaders.

I am not talking about mere fiscal shortfalls, which can easily be corrected through fair tax policies. I am referring to America’s $697 billion water infrastructure deficit. On World Water Day, we must commit our nation to fulfilling the basic promise of universal access to clean water.

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, affirming our government’s commitment to ensuring access to clean water for all Americans. But over the past four decades, Congress failed to fulfill this promise. Funding for water infrastructure peaked in 1977, but fell by 74% in real dollars by 2014. At its zenith the federal government spent $76.27 per person (in 2014 dollars) on water services. By 2014 that number was just $13.68 per person. The sustained lack of funding for water services has led to an aging infrastructure that, according to the latest EPA reports, will require $697 billion in repairs over the next twenty years. In contrast, US defense spending nearly doubled over the same time span to over $700 billion a year, including funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and President Trump says we can afford an additional $54 billion a year in military spending. It is time we acknowledge that a modern, safe drinking and wastewater system is at least as important to American national security as bombs and bullets.

Tragically, the State of Michigan already experienced firsthand the horror of what can happen when aging infrastructure meets the ideology of austerity. Decisions made by the state-appointed officials in Flint resulted in a public health crisis leaving tens of thousands of children exposed to dangerously high levels of lead. Many of the victims will suffer from lifelong impairments because of this exposure.

But the tragedy in Flint is not an anomaly. It is not an isolated incident that merits our thoughts and prayers but little action or accountability. Reports of lead levels in Detroit Public Schools of 100 times the allowable limit caused the Detroit Department of Health to call for lead screening for all students under the age of 6. Flint was a warning sign, a harbinger of a future with a crumbling water infrastructure, a future that looks increasingly like our present situation. Even in the halls of Congress, hundreds of offices lost access to tap water last year due to elevated levels of lead. Without federal funding, the crisis in Flint could very well become the norm across the nation. With over 11,000 community water systems utilizing 6 million lead service pipelines, the risk of another Flint is far too high.

That is why today I am reintroducing an overdue piece of legislation, “The Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act,” which is co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress and supported by over 60 national and grassroots organizations.

The WATER Act will issue grants to ensure homeowners’ service lines that may contain lead are replaced. Our water infrastructure problems extend far beyond lead pipes, however. Over one million miles of piping beneath our streets and homes, a century and a half worth of cast iron, copper, and even wooden vessels, are nearing the end of their lives. The American Water Works Association warns that leaving our decaying infrastructure unchecked will result in “degrading water service, increasing water service disruptions, and increasing expenditures for emergency repairs.” A modern water system may be a challenge for many developing countries – it should not be for the wealthiest nation on the planet.

To directly address the lead found in water at public schools in Detroit and across the country, the WATER Act provides funding to public schools for testing, repairing, replacing, or installing the necessary infrastructure for drinking water. Our children should not endanger their long-term health at the water fountain between classes.

The WATER Act’s $35 billion annual expenditure will be paid for by needed changes to our corporate tax code. The act ends the income tax deferral for offshore corporate profits, a move expected to generate over $60 billion annually. The $35 billion for repairing and replacing our infrastructure will create around one million new jobs here in America—jobs that cannot be outsourced to other countries. I further included Buy America provisions to ensure that the materials used are produced right here, and have indicated that union labor must be given a priority in the construction contracts, so that jobs created by my bill will be family-supporting jobs.

The WATER Act is a win-win-win for the American people. We will no longer feel anxious as we pour our children a glass of water, wondering if it is clean and safe. We will ensure corporations pay their fair share of taxes. And we will put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work modernizing American infrastructure. Congress should give Americans something to drink to, and pass my WATER Act without delay.

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On World Water Day, Conyers Reintroduces Bill To Address Nation's Water Infrastructure Crisis

Washington, D.C. — Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) today reintroduced the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability(WATER) Act. This legislation would provide nearly $35 billion annually to modernize U.S. water infrastructure. The WATER Act funds infrastructure projects by closing a loophole on offshore corporate profits. The WATER Act would make these profits subject to U.S. tax in the year they are generated and ensure that all funds would go to publicly-owned water systems, rather than for-profit providers.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today, we mark World Water Day 2017—where we focus on how important this fundamental resource is to life itself. Around the world, people struggle with access to safe, affordable water—sadly America is no different. Thousands of communities depend on water pipes that are a century old, unsafe, and need to be replaced,” Congressman Conyers said. “That is why I’m introducing the WATER Act of 2017, which funds a massive investment in our public water utilities and creates thousands of jobs in every community. It would help places like Flint, where lead has made the water undrinkable—or Detroit, where outdated infrastructure makes water unaffordable. In the richest country in the world—safe, affordable water in every home is a basic human right.  The WATER Act would make that principle a reality for every American.”

More than 11,200 community water systems have lead service lines, some of which provide water to schools. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates roughly $697 billion is needed to upgrade our drinking water and wastewater systems over the next 20 years.  Without adequate federal support, communities often have to compensate for the funding gap by raising service rates, which some households cannot afford, leading some—including thousands of Detroiters—to be cut off from water and sewer service. Current failing service lines pose a danger to the environment, and wastewater overflows threaten public health. Congressman Conyers introduced the WATER Act to help ensure access to safe, clean, affordable water service. The bill reintroduction comes a day after reports indicated that nearly 380,000 Michigan residents get their water from systems that would fail to meet lead-safety standards proposed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

The WATER Act would allow states to issue grants to replace lead service lines and would establish a School Drinking Water Improvement Grant program to provide funding to public primary and secondary schools that wish to test, repair, replace or install the infrastructure necessary for drinking water foundations or bottle filling stations. Additionally, the WATER Act creates a new grant program to help households install, repair, replace and upgrade septic tanks and drainage fields. The legislation also amends the existing Tribal grant program to increase the amount of assistance from 1.5 percent of Drinking Water SRF funds to 3 percent.

The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Dwight Evans (PA-02), Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Peter Welch (VT-At Large). It is endorsed by over 60 labor unions, national and grassroots organizations, including:  Food & Water Watch, Public Citizen, AFSCME, UAW, National Nurses United, 9to5, National Association of Working Women, Alliance for Democracy, Center for Biological Diversity, Corporate Accountability International, Hip Hop Caucus, Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network, United Church of Christ, Detroit Metropolitan Association Social Justice Mission Team, Michigan United, Water You Fighting For, We the People of Detroit.

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CONYERS Statement In Opposition To REINS Act

Washington, DC – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) submitted the following statement for the Congressional Record in opposition to the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017 (REINS Act):

Dean of the U.S. House
'of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 26, the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017,” otherwise known as the REINS Act, would amend the Congressional Review Act to require that both Houses of Congress pass and the President sign a joint resolution of approval within 70 legislative days before any major rule issued by an agency can take effect.

Simply put, H.R. 26 would impose unworkable deadlines for the enactment of a major rule under procedures that could charitably be referred to as convoluted.

Under this bill, the House may only consider a resolution for a major rule on the second and fourth Thursday of each month.  Keep in mind that typically 80 major rules are promulgated annually.  Yet, there may be as little as just 15 days available to consider such measures based on the Majority’s legislative calendar for the current year. 

Furthermore, Congress may only consider such resolutions within 70 legislative days of receiving a major rule. This process would constructively end rulemaking as we know it.

           

Now, Mr. Chair, the reason why my friends on the other side of the aisle say we need this kind of gumming-the-works legislation -- is because they claim regulations stifle economic growth.

           

For example, they point to the outgoing Administration and say that regulations promulgated during its tenure have hurt our Nation’s economy.

           

What they fail to tell the American people is that it was the Republican George Bush Administration’s economic policies that caused the Great Recession.

           

Without question, it was the lack of regulatory controls that facilitated rampant predatory lending, which nearly destroyed our Nation’s economy.

           

It led to millions of home foreclosures and devastated neighborhoods across America.  In fact, it nearly caused a global economic meltdown. 

           

Nevertheless, as a consequence of strong regulatory policies implemented by President Obama through such measures as the Dodd-Frank Act, our Nation has recovered to a point where the unemployment has been cut nearly in half to less than 5%.

           

Yet, the REINS Act would reverse these gains by empowering Congress to control and override the rulemaking process, even in the absence of any substantive expertise.

More than 80 of the Nation's leading professors on environmental and administrative law have warned in connection with substantively identical legislation considered in the last Congress, that without this expertise, any congressional disapproval is more likely to reflect the political power of special interests.

           

Lastly, by upending the process for agency rulemaking so that Congress can simply void major rules through inaction, the REINS Act likely violates the presentment and bicameralism requirements of article I of the Constitution.

           

As a leading expert on administrative law states:  “The reality is that the act is intended to enable a single House of Congress to control the implementation of the laws through the rulemaking process. Such a scheme transgresses the very idea of separation of powers, under which the Constitution entrusts the writing of the laws to the legislative branch and the implementation of the laws to the executive branch.''

           

The REINS Act will further encourage corporate giants to hold our country hostage through a deregulatory, profits-first agenda and facilitate a political influence process rivaling the destructive industrial monopolies from the past century.

           

In sum, H.R. 26, like the “Midnight Rules Relief Act” we considered yesterday on the House floor, is yet another blatant gift to big business to weaken the critical regulatory protections that ensure the safety of the air we breathe, the cars we drive, the toys we give our children, and the food we eat. 

               

Accordingly, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this ill-conceived bill and I reserve the balance of my time.

CLOSING REMARKS

Mr. Chair, we need real solutions for real problems. 

           

In stark contrast, however, the REINS Act attempts to address a non-existent problem with a very dangerous solution. 

           

We need legislation that creates middle class financial security and opportunity.

           

We need sensible regulations that protect American families from economic ruin and that bring predatory financial practices to an end.

           

We need workplace safety regulations that ensure hardworking Americans who go to work each day are protected from hazardous work environments.

           

We need strong regulations that protect the safety of the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. 

           

Unfortunately, H.R. 26 does nothing to advance those critical goals. 

This explains why more than 150 organizations strongly oppose this legislation, including:

·         Americans for Financial Reform

·         The American Lung Association

·         Consumers Union

·         The Humane Society of the United States

·         The League of Conservation Voters

·         Public Citizen

·         The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees

·         Earthjustice

·         The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards

·         The American Public Health Association

·         The Environmental Defense Action Fund

·         The Center for American Progress, and

The Trust for America’s Health.

I therefor urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 26 and I yield back the balance of my time.

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CONYERS Statement On Criminal Charges In Flint Water Crisis

Detroit, MI - Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement after criminal charges were filed concerning the Flint water crisis:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“We welcome all efforts to secure justice for the people of Flint, including the investigation of criminal actions by emergency managers and others. However, much remains to be done in the pursuit of justice for Flint residents and to ensure that no other community suffers from the actions of unaccountable political appointees that they did not elect.

“The simple fact is that no matter how many people are prosecuted or sued by Attorney General Schuette, it will not undo the damage Flint has suffered. The State must continue its efforts to ameliorate the harms committed in Flint and the Governor and others must ensure that sufficient resources are provided to those who continue to be harmed.  If the state is unwilling to secure the requisite funding, the City of Flint should have the opportunity to bring a civil action seeking compensation from the State for the harms it caused to the citizens of Flint. The State also needs to finally repeal its Emergency Law which is antidemocratic, discriminatory, and a vehicle for corporate privatization, conflicts of interest, and corruption.

“Until Flint’s water is fully safe, its children are made whole, and we see consequences for all those who stripped Flint’s citizens of their political and civil rights to protect themselves, there will be neither justice nor resolution for the people of Flint.”

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Michigan Congressional Democrats Call On DOJ To Review Decision To Block Flint From Suing The State

Michigan – U.S. House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) and Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today led a letter signed by every Democratic House member of Michigan’s congressional delegation, calling for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the State of Michigan’s actions to block the City of Flint from suing the State in connection with the Flint Water Crisis.

As stated in the letter, in March 2016, the City of Flint filed a notice of intent to sue the State. Just a week later, the Governor-appointed Receivership Transition Advisory Board (RTAB) issued a recommendation requiring that it approve the initiation of any litigation by Flint, which was approved by the state treasurer.  The letter raises concerns about the lawfulness of Michigan’s actions and requests the Department of Justice to review whether denying the City of Flint the ability to seek legal redress from the State implicates constitutional due process, equal protection and associated environmental justice issues for the people of Flint.

In their letter, the Members wrote, “First, we are concerned that the state-appointed RTAB’s potentially unauthorized action to restrain Flint’s authority to initiate litigation and its apparent failure to adequately notify the City of the import of its actions may have deprived the City of Flint and its residents of constitutionally protected due process…Given the fact that Flint is a majority African American municipality, the denial of the City’s right to obtain judicial redress may therefore implicate the Equal Protection Clause…Third, we are concerned that the actions of the State may have violated principles of environmental justice, which are premised on notions of Equal Protection.”

 

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Much remains to be done in the pursuit of justice for Flint residents and to ensure no other community suffers from the actions of unaccountable political appointees that they did not elect,” said Congressman Conyers. “The people of Flint must have their rightfully deserved access to legal redress, due process, equal protection under the law and associated environmental justice. I urge DOJ to thoroughly review actions by Governor Snyder and the Michigan Receivership Transition Advisory Board against the people of Flint. I will continue to monitor the situation in Flint in the months and years ahead.”

“The state of Michigan should focus on bringing clean drinking water to the people of Flint, not maneuvering to prevent them from accessing the judicial system,” said Congressman Kildee. “Our letter asks the Department of Justice to investigate the constitutional and environmental justice issues implicated by the State’s decision to effectively prevent the city of Flint from suing the state. Quite simply, this is wrong.”

The letter to DOJ was signed by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05), Congressman Sandy Levin (MI-09), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (MI-14).

In March, Congressman Conyers introduced H.R. 4754, the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016, to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities which cause situations like the Flint Water Crisis.

Democratic Michigan Congressional Delegation Letter to DOJ To Review Decision To Block Flint From Suing The... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Demand Assistance for Flint Recovery in GOP Funding Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – CBC Chairman G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) issued the following response to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) regarding the Republican spending bill:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Flint’s citizens have suffered unacceptable damage and continue to suffer because Republicans are more interested in providing lip service than they are resources,” said Congressman Conyers. “Water is a basic human right and it’s shameful that many Flint residents are stuck with using water bottles to bathe, cook, drink and care for themselves and their families; some not having access to any clean water at all because they are homebound or cannot afford transportation. With funding for Flint omitted from the continuing resolution, it’s clear: minority and low-income communities are not even the slightest priority for our Republican-led Congress. We must ensure Flint’s water is made fully safe, its children and families made whole, and justice is served to those who stripped Flint’s citizens of the right to protect themselves.”

“The Congressional Black Caucus was early to call for immediate funding to assist in the recovery of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, and we are deeply concerned that such assistance is not included in the Republican’s bill to fund the government,” said CBC Chairman Butterfield. “Clean drinking water is a basic human right. Yet, since April 2014, tens of thousands of American children and families in Flint have been drinking and bathing in poisonous water –thousands of families have been harmed—and it is simply outrageous to think that Republicans have moved in a direction to not find a remedy for those who are most affected. Members of the CBC have been outspoken regarding Flint, we have traveled to the city where we met with families to hear their concerns, and we stand united in this effort to call upon our Republican colleagues to help these families recover. Flint still lacks safe water, and as elected officials, we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our constituents.”

“The people of Flint, Michigan have suffered enough,” said Congresswoman Lawrence. “A continuing resolution (CR) that fails to address the man-made crisis in Flint demonstrates our lack of commitment to helping the 100,000 citizens that have been poisoned by lead in their drinking water supply. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing and include funding for the residents of Flint.”

Today, the CBC delivered this letter to House Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell further addressing concerns for the lack of funding for the City of Flint.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Demand Assistance for Flint Recovery in GOP Funding Bill Le... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS: Attorney General Schuette's Lawsuit Wont't Undo the Damage Flint Has Suffered

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) released the following statement on the lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette:

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“While  Schuette’s lawsuit may represent some measure of accountability for those who failed to exercise due care in carrying out Governor Snyder’s takeover of the Flint water system, it will do nothing to undo the damage that Flint’s citizens have already suffered and continue to suffer each day.  If Mr. Schuette dedicated his resources to environmental protection instead of using them to sue the Environmental Protection Agency to allow increased mercury pollution for special interests in Michigan, Flint’s families would not be struggling with the anguish and uncertainty they presently face.

“The simple fact is that no matter how many people are prosecuted or sued by Attorney General Schuette, it will not undo the damage Flint has suffered. Unfortunately, it seems that in Michigan, there are two water quality standards: the one that wealthy communities who supported Governor Snyder receive, and the one forced upon minority, low-income communities who are politically unimportant to our Republican-controlled state government.

“If the facts bear out that these two companies used an insufficient level of care, then they should absolutely be held accountable and pay a price for their actions.  Sadly, it seems like Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette have no interest in holding themselves to that same standard of which they are now—finally—holding to others.  In one important respect, the lawsuits change nothing, the people of the State of Michigan are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to attorneys to protect those largely at fault. 

“Until Flint’s water is fully safe, its children are made whole, and we see consequences for those who stripped Flint’s citizens of their political and civil rights to protect themselves, there will be neither justice nor resolution for the people of Flint.”

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CONYERS: Charges in Flint Water Crisis are not the Final Resolution to Long-Standing Inequities

WASHINGTON – On April 20, 2016, Representative John Conyers, Jr. released the following statement in response to reports that three government officials in Michigan will be charged in connection with the Flint Water Crisis.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“The news demonstrates the regrettable consequences of encouraging state and local workers to put the health and safety of Michiganders behind cutting costs, pleasing industry, and fighting federal authorities.  The decision to charge low-level employees is one that may give the people of Flint some small sense of reckoning—but under no circumstances should these charges or this trial be seen as bringing either closure or justice to the people of Flint.”

“Charging these individuals and even convicting these individuals may be the legally correct course, but it does not one single thing to address the fundamental inequality that communities like Flint and Detroit have to face every single day—and will do so regardless of the outcome of this case.  Tomorrow, they will still live in toxic homes, send their children to toxic schools, and be forced to plan for a future with a dwindling safety net and fewer ladders of opportunity.”

“The simple truth is that we are seeing action on Flint because there is a trail of evidence that leads to the conservative ideology currently in power. For those who have pushed a deregulatory, anti-environment agenda, it appears that their outrage and compassion begins and ends with their own legal culpability—and their support vanishes once the blame is fixed on someone else. Were that not true, we would see the governor taking a substantial part of that billion-dollar surplus and rebuilding Flint’s infrastructure.  Were that not true, we would see the state investing in Detroit’s literally toxic public schools in the way that they invest in the schools where they send their children.  Were that not true, we would see the Attorney General’s office stop wasting resources fighting to permit mercury pollution in Michigan.

“While I want to see people held accountable, I am worried that people are being charged today so that tomorrow the problem can be swept under the rug and the conservatives running Lansing can again focus on their most important issues: eliminating worker and environmental protections, cutting public support services, and usurping the political power of urban and low-income communities.  We cannot afford any more of the governance that has brought places like Flint and Detroit to their knees, and charging low-level civil servants will not prevent that.”

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CONYERS, Kildee & Lawrence Urge Governor Snyder To Ensure Local Taxpayers Don't Foot The Bill For Emergency Managers' Mistakes

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, today led a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, urging him to strongly reconsider requirements that local governments operating under Emergency Management, pay the legal fees and judgements against their Emergency Managers.  In addition to Congressman John Conyers, Jr., the letter to Governor Snyder is signed by Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-5) and Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (MI-14). 

Currently, Michigan’s Local Financial Stability and Choice Act, MCL § 141.1560, requires local governments to cover the costs associated with appointed emergency managers who are sued in that capacity. However, legal fees incurred during Congressional investigations by former Emergency Manager for Detroit Public Schools and the City of Flint, Darnell Earley, have been voluntarily paid by the state. Congressman Conyers, Congressman Kildee, and Congresswoman Lawrence are calling on Governor Snyder to ensure all of Earley’s legal fees are covered by the state, not local taxpayers; and to ensure local governments are not required to pay legal fees associated with emergency managers’ mistakes.

“The exception made in the case of Darnell Earley, should be the rule moving forward,” said Congressman Conyers. “Local taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for mistakes made by state appointed officials who they didn’t elect. Governor Snyder must ensure the burden of legal fees incurred by emergency managers falls on the state, not local governments.”

“Michigan families should not have to pay the legal bills for state-appointed emergency financial managers. Unelected emergency financial managers are accountable only to the Governor and the state should have to pay for their mistakes,” Congressman Kildee 

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

said.

“I find it unreasonable to place the burden of legal fees incurred by emergency managers on local taxpayers,” said Congresswoman Lawrence. “Michiganders should not be on the hook for the mistakes of the Governor’s appointed emergency managers. The State’s emergency manager law disenfranchises voters and takes away local control. Local taxpayers should not be required to foot the bill of fraud and abuse committed by Snyder’s appointees. The State should absorb the financial burden imposed by such crimes and Governor Snyder should ensure that taxpayers are protected from the misuse of their hard earned dollars.”

In their letter, the Members wrote, “…we find it deeply troubling that the former Emergency Manager of the Detroit Public Schools and the City of Flint, Darnell Earley, requested that Flint reimburse more than $75,000 in legal fees that he incurred while under investigation by Congress regarding his role in causing the City’s water crisis…By diverting local taxes from crucial priorities to pay for unelected officials’ legal fees representation and damages, this law places a burden on local taxpayers even as it removes their control of that burden.”

“Further, it would appear to frustrate several federal statutes designed to protect the civil and constitutional rights of our citizens.  And, it permits the State of Michigan to shift responsibility for its actions to localities by dipping into the local taxpayers’ pocketbooks, even in cases where those taxpayers are injured by an Emergency Manager’s conduct…,” the Members continued.

Conyers, Kildee, Lawrence Letter to Snyder 5.19.16 by Beverly Tran

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Conyers: Charges in Flint Water Crisis are not the Final Resolution to Long-Standing Inequities

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr. released the following statement in response to the charges filed against three government officials (two state officials and a city employee) in Michigan in connection with the Flint Water Crisis.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today’s news demonstrates the regrettable consequences of encouraging state and local workers to put the health and safety of Michiganders behind cutting costs, pleasing industry, and fighting federal authorities.  The decision to charge low-level employees is one that may give the people of Flint some small sense of reckoning—but under no circumstances should these charges or this trial be seen as bringing either closure or justice to the people of Flint.”

“Charging these individuals and even convicting these individuals may be the legally correct course, but it does not one single thing to address the fundamental inequality that communities like Flint and Detroit have to face every single day—and will do so regardless of the outcome of this case.  Tomorrow, they will still live in toxic homes, send their children to toxic schools, and be forced to plan for a future with a dwindling safety net and fewer ladders of opportunity.”

“The simple truth is that we are seeing action on Flint because there is a trail of evidence that leads to the conservative ideology currently in power. For those who have pushed a deregulatory, anti-environment agenda, it appears that their outrage and compassion begins and ends with their own legal culpability—and their support vanishes once the blame is fixed on someone else. Were that not true, we would see the governor taking a substantial part of that billion-dollar surplus and rebuilding Flint’s infrastructure.  Were that not true, we would see the state investing in Detroit’s literally toxic public schools in the way that they invest in the schools where they send their children.  Were that not true, we would see the Attorney General’s office stop wasting resources fighting to permit mercury pollution in Michigan.

“While I want to see people held accountable, I am worried that people are being charged today so that tomorrow the problem can be swept under the rug and the conservatives running Lansing can again focus on their most important issues: eliminating worker and environmental protections, cutting public support services, and usurping the political power of urban and low-income communities.  We cannot afford any more of the governance that has brought places like Flint and Detroit to their knees, and charging low-level civil servants will not prevent that.”

Rep. John Conyers, together with 31 original cosponsors, introduced H.R. 4754, the Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016 to address unchecked decision-making powers that appointed emergency financial managers have in financially distressed cities which cause 

Section-By-Section HR 4754, Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016

HR 4754 Emergency Financial Manager Reform Act of 2016 by Beverly Tran

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