FLINT, MI -- A congressional committee wants additional information from Gov. Rick Snyder about when he first learned of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area.

In a letter to Snyder Thursday, Oct. 12, Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked for the governor's help in resolving a discrepancy on the subject.

On March 17, 2016, Snyder testified before the committee, which was investigating the reasons for the Flint water crisis, saying he didn't learn of the Legionnaires' outbreak "until 2016."

"And as soon as I became aware of it, we held a press conference the next day," the governor testified.

Harvey Hollins, director of the state's Office of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives, contradicted that timeline when he testified under oath in a preliminary examination in the criminal case against another state official -- Nick Lyon -- last week.

Lyon is charged with involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office for his role in the Legionnaires' outbreak.

Hollins testified that he told Snyder about Legionnaires' problems in December 2015, weeks before the governor has said he was first made aware of the outbreak.

Snyder announced the potential connection between Flint water and Legionnaires' in a news conference on Jan. 13, 2016, the day after he has said he became aware of the issue.

The governor's press secretary told MLive-The Flint Journal this week that Snyder stands by his congressional testimony, which was also given under oath.

In their letter to Snyder, ranking members Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina, and Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, reference the federal law that describes perjury.

According to the law, "a witness commits a crime if he or she 'knowingly and wilfully' makes a statement 'knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitous or fraudulent statement,' " the letter says.

Hollins said he told the governor about the surge in Legionnaires' and participated in a staff meeting in which the governor's expected response was discussed.

Hollins said Snyder told him in December that he had not been aware of the Lengonnaires' issues before Hollins informed him.

At least a dozen victims died from Legionnaires' disease in parts of 2014 and 2015, a time that coincided with the city's use of the Flint River as a water source.