President Obama signed an emergency declaration for Flint, Michigan which was co-signed by all but one member of the Michigan delegation.
Representative Justin Amash (R) refused to sign the president's declaration for assistance because of some cockamamie constitutional objection.
"While the U.S. Constitution does not authorize the federal government to intervene in an intrastate matter like this one, the State of Michigan should provide comprehensive assistance to the people of Flint," Amash said. "The residents who were harmed deserve an independent, nonpartisan investigation, and the persons responsible for this crisis must be held accountable."
Setting aside the nonsensical constitutional objection Representative Amash pulled out of his ass, how exactly does he see the state providing "comprehensive assistance" to Flint?
The state poisoned them. The state made the decision to give them contaminated water in an effort to save a few bucks. Governor Rick Snyder (R) and his emergency managing henchmen exposed a city of 100,000 people to possible brain damage. Does Representative Amash truly believe the Snyder administration should be trusted to investigate themselves?
We don't often see situations where federal intervention is more appropriate than it is right now. The people of Michigan cannot trust Governor Snyder and his emergency managers who are not accountable to anyone but the governor. Furthermore, if the Snyder administration was willing to expose tens of thousands of people to brain damage in the name of austerity, who can say with any authority that Governor Snyder will not skimp on relief?
The poisoning of Flint will ultimately cost the state demonstrably more money than was saved by pumping contaminated water into Flint in the first place.