State Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, on Monday released the following statement regarding senior officials, including the governor, within the Whitmer administration embarking on a taxpayer-funded trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Scott Bowen, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring, and Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) CEO Quinten Messer left for the week-long trip on Sunday.

“I guess college kids spring break to Florida and senior government officials spring break to Europe. I don’t care what the politically correct name for this waste of a trip is; this is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded spring break vacation for the governor and her senior department officials.

“We’re in the middle of serious budget negotiations focused on making government more efficient through a series of targeted cuts. The DNR director wants to hike hunting and fishing licenses. The governor wants to raise taxes on businesses, and other department heads are falling right in line with those plans, just like they’re probably line dancing in some Irish bar with her right now.

“The governor and her department heads have been talking about revenue increases for months. They say we simply cannot sustain the core functions of government without raising taxes on working people. Either the state has more than enough revenue or the governor must believe that state-funded vacations are a core function of government.

“Well, the governor and her department heads have some hard truths coming their way. House Republicans are going to need assurances that working-class tax dollars aren’t going to continue funding these ridiculous overseas trips. People want their tax dollars to fix the roads, expand educational opportunities, and secure quality emergency services, not allow the governor to spend her way into fancy dinners with foreign leaders.”

Governor Whitmer and Director Bowen have recently championed significant fee increases for hunting, fishing, and boating licenses. The proposals have been widely criticized by Republicans, who say the fee hikes will drive people from outdoor recreational activities – leading to less revenue for the DNR and fewer hunters assisting with population management of Michigan wildlife.

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