State Rep. Scott VanSingel, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, today joined the state House in approving a plan to restore funding for vital government programs vetoed by Gov. Whitmer.

The governor vetoed nearly $1 billion in Legislature-approved funding when she signed the budget plan for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

The House plan approved today would restore the most critical of those vetoed funds, including VanSingel’s measure to restore tuition grant money for 17,000 independent college students, 90 percent of which would have come from federal dollars.

“We know the price of college is a struggle for many students across Michigan,” said VanSingel, of Grant. “The decision to eliminate these grants took students and parents by surprise. We’re approaching the end of the semester now and students still don’t have access to the grants they need.”

The plan also includes:

• $10 million for school safety grants.
• $16.6 million for rural hospitals.
• $10.7 million to improve pediatric psychiatric services.
• Nearly $2 million to continue the fight against opioid drug abuse and opioid-related deaths.
• Restore essential funding for secondary road patrol programs, ensuring local sheriff deputy jobs aren’t cut.

The plan now moves to be considered by the state Senate.

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