Michigan Republican State Representative Thomas Albert is taking the wraps off a $13 billion dollar spending plan at the state capitol. Thomas chairs the House Appropriations Committee. The 86th State House District he represents includes portions of Kent and Ionia counties.

Thomas says the spending plan is set up in a straightforward manner. “We want to make sure money intended to help kids is used to help kids, and money that’s intended to help roads will help roads.”

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The massive spending plan he says is aimed at supporting Michigan families, children, and communities to navigate the COVID-19 outbreak and control orders issued by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

But also tucked away in the appropriations plan, is an unspecified amount of money to continue the legislature’s investigation into Democratic Governor Whitmer’s nursing home virus orders.  Republican lawmakers have been more than outspoken in their criticism of what they say are needless deaths occurring in those facilities after the governor ordered COVID-19 patients into the nursing and long-term care facilities.

Chairman Albert says the spending will help Michigan recover from the devastation created by the virus, and the Governor’s unilateral control orders which closed businesses by the thousands and put millions in the state out of work. “At the same time, we’ve got to plan ahead. We have a unique opportunity to invest in roads, broadband and other infrastructure Michigan needs to emerge from the pandemic with a stronger foundation. And we have a responsibility to prepare for the day our state budget is no longer artificially propped up by billions of dollars in federal aid. Our national and state economic policies over the past year have been dangerously unsustainable, and we must take steps now to put our state in a better financial position moving forward.”

The State House Appropriations Committee begins its review of the spending plan later today.

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