LANSING — On Tuesday, state Rep. Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) voted for the Michigan House of Representatives’ omnibus budget for fiscal year 2018-19 and the House school omnibus budget for fiscal year 2018-19. In response, state Rep. Brinks issued the following statement:
“The House General Fund and School Aid Fund budgets voted on yesterday were far from perfect. From the missed opportunity to put $125 million toward repairing our dangerous and decaying roads, to the missed opportunity to hire more teachers and to equip our students with new textbooks and improved classroom technology, we could have done so much more with this budget. Families in Kent County, Oscoda, Grayling and Ann Arbor are still worried about groundwater pollution, while families in Flint are scared about the safety of tapwater in their homes. We could have created a budget that addressed these problems; and Republican leadership chose not to. These budgets will now move forward toward reconciliation with the Senate versions. It is my hope that they will be improved through the legislative process and emerge better in their final form. I hope to be able to vote without reservation for a final budget that truly represents the values and priorities of working families of Michigan.”