FLINT, MI (WTOL) - Six U.S. congressmen including Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) and Dan Kildee (MI-05), along with Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, met with Flint residents on Saturday to discuss that city's water crisis.
Although the congressional leaders all come from different districts, they came together today for one common goal.
"This is really unwarranted, this situation really needs to be fixed," said Congresswoman Kaptur.
The situation is not just the water crisis, but also how the crisis has been handled since.
"I'm shocked that the state of Michigan has allowed this to happen in this community. This is a community of 99 thousand people. I can't imagine this happening anywhere else. I've never seen this anywhere else," said Kaptur.
The group met with Flint residents to discuss how else they can help.
"They want the problem solved and so I think we have to do immediate as well as long-term and intermediate steps," said Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson.
Besides providing bottled water, they are working towards helping get the pipes fixed.
Hicks-Hudson says she talked with Flint's new mayor about utilizing Toledo's strong business and labor communities to help with the pipe problem.
She says she wants to keep using the compassion of Toledoans to help our friends and neighbors to the north.
In addition, Congressman Kildee, who represents Flint in Congress, talked about new legislation he is proposing.
It would also work toward infrastructure repairs and stronger health monitoring.
Kildee is asking the state to match the $765 million of federal money being used to help fix the problem.
But it's not just an emphasis on fixing the water crisis in Flint that was discussed today. Other concerns the group discussed included nutrition, healthcare, schools and the overall economy.
"I've been a principal for 14 years now, in education for 25 and I've not seen some of the behaviors that I'm seeing at this school," said Brigitte Jackson, a local school principal.
She says kids are acting out in class, something she thinks is a direct effect of the toll this crisis has taken. And it's something she says we as a country need to handle.
"We're in America, not a third world country," said Jackson.
The congressional leaders say this is the first of many meetings and steps to resolve this issue, and it's imperative to stay united.
