LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Rick Outman on Wednesday issued the following statement after the Senate passed its budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year:
“I tried to support this budget plan, and there are many good things included, but the spending is simply too much. I don’t think what was put before us for a vote provided Michigan taxpayers with a good value for the money that was being spent. A lot of people still need help — more than they need new commissions or more bureaucracy. I think we could have done more to address what the people of this state have clearly stated their priorities are.
“Ultimately, I had to vote no because this budget fails to address many of the issues facing this state while continuing much of the wasteful spending we saw during last year’s budget. In order to balance the budget, the administration and majority opted to raid the teacher pension fund and forced an income tax hike on residents.
“COVID money is drying up, and these budgets keep creating new programs and bureaucracies that we will have difficulty funding down the road. The money simply isn’t there to maintain this level of overspending, and I can’t support going back down this road that we’ve seen the end result of before. The bad just outweighed the good, and that’s not how to create a balanced budget.”
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