LANSING, Mich., April 23, 2021 — The House Committee on Appropriations yesterday heard testimony on a House Republican proposal to finally put billions in unused federal COVID-19 recovery funds into action for Michigan families, but only if they’re tied to limiting the governor’s administration board transfer authority.
“During a time when our state is moving forward toward economic recovery and the end of this pandemic, the budget proposed by House Republicans would take us backward,” said House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Twp). “Once again, we are seeing our Michigan taxpayer dollars stay in Washington D.C., only coming home if they’re tied to partisan political games to limit the powers of the governor. These one-sided proposals continue to hold Michiganders hostage.”
These supplemental budget proposals were in the form of amendments to House Bills 4419-4421, in which many of the line-items are tie-bared to House Bill 4082 to restrict gubernatorial authority.
“My fellow House Democrats and I have been calling on the Republican majority for months to use these critical dollars to help Michiganders survive this global pandemic and put our state on the path to recovery as quickly as possible,” said state Rep. Joe Tate (D-Detroit), who serves as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “So much precious time has been wasted that could have been used to protect families and save lives, and now we finally have the opportunity to use these funds to help Michigan families without any unnecessary restrictions.”
Recent budget proposals by House Republicans would also fail to fund the popular Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs, which offer tuition-free community college or trade school for those who have helped carry our state through this crisis.
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