ICYMI: Walberg Wants Whitmer to Accept Federal Win for Students

Lansing, MI – This week, Congressman Tim Walberg penned an op-ed for The Detroit News explaining the new federal program to give parents more say in their kids’ education, and urging Governor Gretchen Whitmer to accept this federal funding.

The congressman starts by explaining the educational choice win:

“The Working Families Tax Cuts, signed into law in July, implemented the first ever federal school choice tax credit. This would incentivize businesses and individuals to donate to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) and thus expand scholarship access to families.”

He goes on to explain the only thing standing in the way of a better education for Michigan students:

“The biggest hurdle to making this vision a reality in the state of Michigan is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Under the Working Families Tax Cuts, governors must opt their state into the federal education tax credit program. Unfortunately, Whitmer has bought into the lie that any school choice funding takes away from public schools. In 2021, she vetoed several school choice tax credit bills that passed the state Legislature. She even went so far as to state that these bills would ‘turn private schools into tax shelters for the wealthy.’”

Sadly, Gretchen Whitmer has still refused to allow this fully federally funded program. To be clear, these are federal dollars that will not impact the Michigan budget’s bottom line, designated for Michigan students, and all the governor has to do is say “yes.” But she has yet to do so.

“For her entire term, Gretchen Whitmer has put politics and unions before students,” said Gabe Butzke. “Now, at the 11th hour, she plans to do it again. Her penultimate act on education funding will be saying ‘no’ to more money for Michigan kids.”

You can read Congressman Walberg’s full piece here.