Democratic Caucus’ Response to the State of the State

Liz Gullett

Jan 20, 2017

Following Tuesday’s State of the State address, House Democratic Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) and Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) provided the Democratic response to the address. In it, they pledged to fight to enact policies benefiting working families. The leaders also stated they would work to dismantle Republican policies, which they believe have saddled working people with higher taxes and fewer services.

House Democratic Leader Singh stated that while there were some areas, broad in principle, where they agreed with Governor Rick Snyder, there weren’t enough details to say they can support him. Additionally, he spoke on the caucus’ desire to help residents in the state who feel disenfranchised from the economy. He also questioned why there weren’t any details on reports showing Michigan is underfunding public education and called for additional investment in education.

Senate Democratic Leader Ananich, who represents Flint, stated the Governor shouldn’t have compared a sink hole in Fraser, with the water crisis in Flint. Additionally, he pointed to the recent troubles at the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA). He stated concern that Governor Snyder didn’t speak on how the residents who were wrongly found to be defrauding the system will be reimbursed for the funds they paid to the UIA.

To view the full response by the two Democratic Leaders, please click here.

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