President Donald Trump’s Department of Labor announced that it has awarded Flint, Mich. with $4.1 million in incremental funding to aid efforts to restore the city’s drinking water infrastructure.
The $4.1 million will be given to the Michigan Strategic Fund, which was created in 1984 to promote economic development and to create jobs. The money will be used for labor costs related to water system restoration efforts.
The announcement comes after the Department of Labor’s March 2016 approval of a discretionary grant for up to $15 million to assist Flint with immediate recovery efforts resulting from 2015 water crisis. $7.5 million was initially released, with another $3.4 million being awarded in March 2017. Thursday’s announcement brings the total funds awarded to the previously approved amount of $15 million.
Trump visited Flint in September 2016 at the height of the fall presidential campaign. He visited the Flint Water Treatment Plant and spoke at a predominately black church. Despite a hostile reception from some at the church, Trump said that he would fix the problems in Flint — not just the water crisis, but also the loss of jobs and the gutting of the city’s manufacturing base.
“It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn’t drink the water in Mexico, now the cars are made in Mexico and you can’t drink the water in Flint,” Trump said at the time.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Michigan $100 million to repair Flint’s water system. The funding, provided by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016, was allocated to accelerate upgrades to Flint’s water infrastructure.
“The people of Flint and all Americans deserve a more responsive federal government,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in March. “EPA will especially focus on helping Michigan improve Flint’s water infrastructure as part of our larger goal of improving America’s water infrastructure.”
Flint was in the news earlier this week for possible terrorist attack at Bishop International Airport. Amor Ftouhi, a 49-year-old Tunisian-Canadian, allegedly stabbed a Michigan police officer. (RELATED: Here’s What We Know About The Terrorist Who Stabbed A Michigan Cop)
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who has been critical of Trump in the past. Weaver met with Trump in March, and said she was grateful for the assistance from the EPA. The mayor’s office did not respond by press time.
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