The governor of Michigan has declined an invitation to testify at the second Congressional hearing on the Flint water crisis, according to a statement released Monday by Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich.  

Instead, Gov. Rick Snyder will spend Wednesday afternoon presenting his proposed state budget for the 2018 fiscal year in Lansing, a spokeswoman from his office said. “Governor Snyder’s refusal to show up and testify is deeply disappointing,” Kildee said in a statement. “His administration’s policies led to this man-made crisis and he needs to answer questions so that the whole truth can be found. Flint families deserve answers and immediate solutions from the state about what is being done to make things right for the people of Flint.”  

Snyder, a Republican, was one of several state officials the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee invited to testify Wednesday. The hearing was called after several Democrats complained that Snyder was left off the witness list for a hearing held by the Republican-controlled Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last week.  

The Feb. 3 hearing featured testimony from an administrator from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the state agency responsible for enforcing federal rules on water quality. This week’s hearing, The Flint Water Crisis: Lessons for Protecting America’s Children, will include testimony from a pediatrician who identified several children with elevated levels of lead in their bloodstreams.  

Snyder, a Republican, apologized to the residents of Flint during his January State-of-the-State address. He also promised to “fix” the problem.