LANSING, Mich. — Senate Appropriations Minority Vice Chair Jon Bumstead, R-Norton Shores, issued the following statement Wednesday after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her 2026 State of the State address at the Michigan Capitol:
“Nearly 40 years ago, I started my own construction company. When you build a house, you give the customer an estimate and work hard to stay within that number. If you keep going back asking for more money, you are not going to stay in business very long.
“Government should operate the same way. The governor’s recent budget proposal represents a 49% increase in spending from when she took office. We can’t keep overspending, overborrowing and dipping into the state’s emergency savings account simply because the governor wants to spend more taxpayer dollars. The rainy day fund is there for real emergencies and should not be raided when we can instead make meaningful policy changes to achieve our shared goals.
“If we want more affordable housing, we need to make it easier to build. Streamlining zoning rules, cutting unnecessary regulations and speeding up permit approvals will do more to lower costs than growing government. I will always support practical solutions to turn around our state and build a better Michigan.”
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