Michigan House speaker says Flint water emergency is over, blocks aid for students

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan House Republicans have unilaterally blocked about $8.3 million in spending aimed at helping residents of Flint deal with the long-term fallout of the drinking water crisis, as the GOP leader, Speaker Matt Hall, said the emergency in the city is over.

In 2024, state lawmakers continued to set aside money annually to pay for support services, including psychologists, nurses, social workers and counselors to aid Flint students. It's estimated that thousands of Flint residents were harmed after the city switched its water source to the Flint River in 2014, triggering toxic lead to leach into the city's drinking water.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead and can suffer permanent adverse health impacts, particularly on the development of the central nervous system, according to the World Health Organization.

“The Flint drinking water emergency is over," Hall, R-Richland Township, said at a press conference Wednesday. "Even Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer has acknowledged that, yet they continue to want to fund it and squirrel away money for it. That isn’t happening.”

Former Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Democrat who represented Flint, said Hall's comments marked the first he's aware of from a political leader suggesting the people of Flint don't need help any longer.

"That's a complete lack of understanding about lead exposure," Ananich said of Hall's statements.

The disapproval of continuing about $6.7 million for Flint students and $1.6 million for city residents was part of nearly $645 million in funding for ongoing programs across multiple state departments that Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee voted Wednesday to reject.

The programs in question were baked into the state budget, approved in 2024. State officials were seeking to convert them into what is referred to as "work projects," a designation that usually allows departments to carry over funding from one budget year to the next if not all of the program's money is spent in one fiscal year, from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

In May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was officially lifting the emergency order that placed on the City of Flint under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. But the impacts of lead contamination remain in the city.

Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, drove to Lansing Thursday morning to give a speech on the Senate floor in opposition to the funding block House Republicans instituted a day earlier.

Republicans had de-funded services for lead-poisoned kids in Flint, Cherry said in his speech. Meanwhile, Republicans had allowed funding for multiple business programs and a bridge-replacement project in Hillsdale County to continue flowing, Cherry said.

He described the move as "actively attacking" his constituents. In addition, Cherry questioned why Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a fellow Democrat, hadn't spoken out on the funding block.

"I've also been a little bit surprised that we have heard nothing from the governor of our state. No comment," Cherry said. "Well, I would also ask the governor if she believes that the House action to deny services to lead-poisoned kids in Flint is something she agrees with or not."

Whitmer's office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment. The governor's budget director, Jen Flood, issued a statement Wednesday evening saying the House GOP's action would eliminate jobs, cut food assistance and lead to higher housing and health care costs.

On Thursday, Hall said he does not anticipate the funding for Flint will be restored in a supplemental budget bill — a possibility for other projects axed Wednesday — in part because the city also got funding in the fiscal year 2026 budget that passed in October.

"We went an entire fiscal year and they didn't get this money," Hall said. "And then they got another allocation of money in next year and they want to keep this and that."

In an interview, Cherry said that work project status is typically granted, allowing funding allocated for one budget year to be held over. It's likely the school leaders who were handling some of the money for Flint students were working under the assumption that they would be able to continue to use the money into the future, Cherry said.

Under the budget, up to $5 million was allocated to be distributed through the Genesee Intermediate School District to students impacted by the drinking water emergency.

"Funds under this subsection must be used for behavioral supports, social workers, counselors, psychologists, nursing services, including, but not limited to, vision and hearing services, transportation services, parental engagement, community coordination, and other support services," the budget says.

Eddie Kindle, associate superintendent of the Genesee Intermediate School District, said Thursday that the district was still investigating the repercussions of the funding block.

Of Hall's statement that the lead contamination emergency is over, Kindle said the ramifications of the crisis could last a lifetime.

There are still children dealing with the effects of the lead-tainted water in Flint, said state Rep. Cynthia Neeley, D-Flint.

“We still need that money to help those kids that got affected 10 years ago,” Neeley said. “So, for our speaker to say that we no longer need the money is untrue. It is just unfair for everyone across the state that he would do such a heinous thing, especially to children, especially to ones that’s been suffering for the last 10 years."

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