Gov. Snyder in Flint Thursday helping at a food bank

Republicans dispute the notion that race or poverty played a role in the crisis and point to a lack of action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which did not warn the public for months after learning about elevated lead levels in Flint.

Michigan National Guard members distribute water to a line of residents in their cars in Flint, Michigan, Jan. 21, 2016.

Snyder, who declined an invitation to appear before that committee, has been widely criticized for being slow to recognize the scope of Flint’s problems after a 2014 switch of its drinking water supply to the Flint River.

MLive is reporting that Gov. Snyder ordered the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to withhold lead test results until they figured out how to best tell the public of the dangers.

Flo Rida chose to get involved with this public health crisis when he saw that Flint residents were still being denied access to clean water for drinking, bathing, and cooking.

The EPA has acknowledged that state officials notified the agency last April that Flint was not treating the river water with additives to prevent corrosion from pipes.

Flint stopped using treated water from Detroit and switched to the Flint River in 2014 to save money.

Kildee said President Barack Obama’s budget director, Shaun Donovan, signaled support for his efforts at a closed-door meeting Wednesday with House Democrats.

Meanwhile, A water expert who first raised concerns about lead in Flint’s drinking water dismissed as “contrived” a city official’s suggestion in an email that anti-corrosive phosphates weren’t added to the Flint River because of worries that the chemicals would promote bacterial growth.

Adding to controversy over what top officials knew and when regarding Flint’s water crisis and resulting health epidemic, emails obtained by the Flint Journal suggest that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder told state officials to suppress lead testing results, both from local health officials and the community, while they figured out how to present the information to the public.

Governor Synder’s total budget for MI was $54.9 billion and the mainstay of the funds will be allocated to finance failing schools in Detroit over the next 10 years.

Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said the governor’s office didn’t know about the Legionnaires’ outbreak until March 2015.

Governor Rick Snyder spent part of his morning at a food bank in Flint taking a tour and joining volunteers packing boxes of food for those in need.

The proposal includes $25 million for infrastructure needs specific to Flint, which is grappling with lead-contaminated water.

The crisis and the people he’s helping hit close to home. Others reported symptoms, including rashes and hair loss, but local officials insisted the water was safe.

“The governor’s administration and his state-appointed emergency financial managers created this crisis and he must answer questions so the whole truth can be found”, Kildee said. He did not specify who made the decision.