US President Barack Obama speaks at the United Auto Workers-General Motors Center for Human Resources January 20, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo credit should read Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
DETROIT, Mich. (AP) — President Barack Obama has told autoworkers in Detroit that his administration is doing what it can to assist Flint in that city’s water crisis.
Obama said Wednesday at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources that if he were a parent in Flint he would be beside himself if his children’s health was “at risk.”
The president also said the situation in Flint is a “reminder of why you can’t shortchange basic services.”
Obama has declared an emergency in Flint, qualifying the city for $5 million. Gov. Rick Snyder is seeking a federal disaster declaration which would bring in more federal resources.
Corrosive water from the Flint River has caused lead to leach from old pipes into homes. Tests have shown high levels of lead in the blood of some children.
