LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pleading for help from the U.S. Senate and President Trump as the state faces massive budget shortfalls.
During a press briefing on Thursday the governor outlined her budget priorities and the potential future of the current budget.
“We need our partners on both sides of the isle in Washington to come together and pass a plan to aid states in our recovery,” Whitmer said.
She explained that the federal CARES Act does not allow states to use any of that federal money on current spending projects.
“Every state in the nation is confronting a budget crisis that threatens everything from education of our kids, to our public safety, to the healthcare that we all so desperately rely on,” Whitmer stated.
State Budget Director Chris Kolb explained that the combined revenue losses for both fiscal years is estimated to be around $6.2 billion dollars. He called it “a 50-state problem” that “is as bad, if not worse, than the Great Recession.”
Some of the governor’s top budget item priorities include education, police and fire departments, hazard pay for first responders, extended unemployment benefits, and vaccine research.
Both are Whitmer and Kolb calling on Washington to act. “I want to be clear: There are no easy solutions here. There will be hard choices,” Whitmer said.
