FLINT, MI – A group of Flint residents who want to be heard in Washington, D.C., will leave Flint tonight.

Organizers want people who are impacted by the Flint water crisis to be able to tell their stories during the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing.

"We are going to DC so our voices aren't lost in the middle of political posturing," the message on the signup form says.

There will be a prayer vigil and news conference after the hearing where Flint residents will be able to tell their stories to the media, organizers said.

There will be trainers on the bus to help residents on how to share their story with the media.

The group will leave from the parking lot of the former Kmart at Miller Road and Ballenger Highway.

There is no cost to ride the bus, but travelers must provide for their own meals.

Signup for the bus is on a first-come, first-served basis. The bus leaves at 7 p.m. 

Online registration is available here and ends at 3 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 2.

The trip is sponsored by the National Action Network, Flint Democracy Defense League, Michigan Faith in Action, AFSCME SEIU, Michigan Nurses Association, Progress Michigan, National People's Action Advancement Project, National People's Action, Center for Popular Democracy and Michigan United.

Another bus charted by the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network also will leave from the same location. 

Gov. Rick Snyder should have to testify before Congress, according to Michigan NAN President Rev. Charles Williams II. NAN also is calling for a $400 million appropriation from Congress to help fix Flint's toxic water. 

"We're hoping that Congress will pull Snyder and the emergency managers in to find out what they've done," Williams said. "They're trying to deflect the conversation. This was under (Snyder's) house. Under his administration. He needs to answer for this."

Williams said buses carrying 100 people each from Detroit, Cleveland and New York also will head to the hearing. 

"For a congressional committee meeting, people are invited to testify by the committee chairman," Snyder Spokesman Dave Murray said in an email to The Flint Journal. "Gov. Snyder has not been asked to testify. Keith Creagh, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, was invited and plans to speak before the committee this week, talking about challenges faced in Flint and what the department is doing moving forward to protect the health and safety of residents. That's our focus now."

Dominic Adams is a reporter for The Flint Journal. Contact him atdadams5@mlive.com or 810-241-8803. 

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