House Republicans continue to prolong COVID-19 pandemic by refusing to put all federal stimulus dollars into action

LANSING —Democrats released the following statements today after Senate Bills 29 and 114, which fail to provide sufficient pandemic relief funding, passed a vote in the Michigan House of Representatives.

“I will continue to call for an up-and-down vote to bring home every one of the $5 billion Michigan taxpayer dollars from Washington D.C. today so we can get to work speeding vaccine distribution and supporting Michiganders who are struggling,” said House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Twp). “By again proposing budgets that leave our federal dollars in D.C. to play partisan political games, Republicans are forcing Michigan workers, families and businesses to fight this pandemic with one hand tied behind their back.”

“Our small businesses are hurting, and half measures aren’t going to provide the support they need,” said Rep. Rachel Hood (D-Grand Rapids). “The budget we saw today failed to acknowledge the challenges Michigan workers struggling to pay rent and feed their families have faced over the past year. Michigan families can’t afford to leave money on the table when they have no food on the table.”

“After watching an unprecedented number of veto overrides fail yesterday, House Republicans decided to try their luck once again today – squandering valuable time that could have been used to negotiate a budget that would have helped every Michigander hurt by this pandemic,” said Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham). “While Michiganders saw obstruction by Republicans in Lansing, we saw another $10 Billion in relief passed in Washington. Now more than ever, we have a responsibility to ensure that these negotiations aren’t reduced to partisan gamesmanship. This is an easy decision: the Legislature must provide the relief Michigan’s families, public schools, small businesses, and local governments need right now by allocating every cent of the federal funding available.”

“It feels like Groundhog Day. Today was yet again another opportunity to bring money home and give Michiganders the relief they need – the relief House Democrats have been fighting for every step of the way,” said Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills). “Instead, we had the same debate we’ve been having about whether Michigan business, workers, schools and families deserve relief. The bills we saw today only provide a fraction of the funding offered by D.C., but I will continue to fight for every penny.”

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