“Today, I joined my Democratic colleagues and voted against House Bill 4609, which would repeal Michigan’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Once again, the majority party is going to the Michigan residents who have the least, to give the most when it comes to funding road maintenance and repair. Eliminating the EITC is unconscionable because it takes money away from low-income working families who work and still struggle to provide for themselves and their families. Whether the EITC means an extra $140 for a low-income family or more or less than that, it’s important because it means they can pay a bill, or buy something a child needs or fix the car they need to get to work every day. We can’t secure Michigan’s economic future by constantly pushing people deeper into poverty, and that’s what the so-called roads plan that passed today does. The plan relies on unknown future revenue growth and on unfairly raising taxes on the Michiganders who can afford it the least. I can’t support this plan, and that is why I voted against the bill to repeal the EITC and the other road funding bills in this package.”