LANSING — Last night, Governor Whitmer laid out her plans to move Michigan forward by cutting taxes, boosting education funding, fixing our roads and infrastructure, lowering the cost of insulin, and increasing access to mental health services. In their rebuttals, Michigan Republicans relied on baseless attacks, trying to cloud the historic progress Governor Whitmer has delivered on the kitchen table issues for Michiganders.
Here are the facts:
Governor Whitmer Is Fixing the Damn Roads
With the largest ever investment in Michigan infrastructure, Whitmer delivered $4.75 billion to repair, replace, or rehabilitate 13,198 lane miles of road. “More than 20 projects supporting 22,800 good-paying construction jobs are already underway,” and Whitmer has added 2,500 good-paying jobs to fix 100 bridges, while rolling out another $563 million to further upgrade Michigan bridges.
Additionally, Governor Whitmer launched MI Clean Water, a $1 billion plan to upgrade water infrastructure, which is supporting thousands of jobs and providing “communities with the resources they need to address water infrastructure concerns and lead action level exceedances.”
Governor Whitmer Is Cutting Costs, Putting Money in Families’ Pockets
Whitmer is putting seniors first by working to repeal the retirement tax, which would save 500,000 households an average of $1,000 a year. For every Michigan driver, the Governor is delivering a $400 refund check. The Whitmer administration has expanded low or no-cost child care to 105,000 Michigan children, and by repealing the tampon tax Whitmer will save Michiganders thousands of dollars over their lifetime. Further cutting taxes, the Governor is pushing to triple a tax credit that will save an average of nearly $3,000 for 730,000 working-class families. Additionally, Whitmer is holding drug companies accountable with legislation to cap the cost of insulin at $50 a month.
Governor Whitmer Is Creating Thousands of Good-Paying Jobs and Leading Michigan to Historic Economy Recovery
Earlier this week, Governor Whitmer landed a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing, creating 4,000 good-paying jobs, retaining 1,000 more jobs, generating even more ancillary jobs, and producing $28.8 billion in new personal income for Michigan families. Thanks to the Governor, Michigan secured this “historic” investment that will make the state “the ‘hub’ of electric vehicle development and manufacturing.”
Before this announcement, Whitmer had already created 16,000 new auto jobs and added 145,000 new jobs across all industries in 2021. That is historic economic success.
Michigan was ranked as a top ten state for new business creation in 2021. Michigan’s economy grew at the third-fastest rate in the nation and was “the best in the Midwest,” during the second quarter of 2021. And last summer experts ranked Michigan’s economic recovery as the second strongest in the country, thanks to a “series of initiatives” outlined by the Governor. Governor Whitmer launched 23 economic relief programs that provided over $240 million in relief to 25,000 small businesses across the state and retaining 200,000 jobs.
Governor Whitmer Worked Across the Aisle to Safely Bring Kids Back to the Classroom
Governor Whitmer passed a bipartisan deal that encouraged schools to move to in-person learning, while providing the resources needed to bring students back into classrooms. The Governor is a vocal advocate for in-person learning and has been clear that virtual classes are “not sustainable.” Whitmer continues to work to safely keep students in classrooms, distributing 300,000 COVID-19 tests to schools and other essential services.
Governor Whitmer Continues to Make Historic Investments in the Mental Health of Michiganders
Governor Whitmer delivered historic levels of mental health resources for students as part of Michigan’s largest-ever investment in K-12 education. This funding helped schools hire more than 560 nurses, counselors, and social workers. And building on this progress, the Governor committed to another bold investment in mental health in next year’s school aid budget too.
But mental health isn’t just a challenge for our students. To increase access to care for everyone, Michigan needs a bigger mental health workforce, which is why Whitmer proposed expanding Michigan’s Loan Repayment Program for mental health professionals. This effort will retain and recruit hundreds more mental health workers.
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