State Rep. and chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education Scott VanSingel (R-Grant) earlier this month voted in support of the House's supplemental budget plan that restores funding for vital government programs vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The House plan reinstates tuition grant money for 17,000 independent college students. Whitmer vetoed nearly $1 billion the Legislature approved for government programs.
VanSingel acknowledged in a statement issued after the vote that many college students statewide struggle with tuition. The House voted on the plan Dec. 4 and it now moves to the Senate.
“The decision to eliminate these grants took students and parents by surprise," the legislator said in a press release. “We’re approaching the end of the semester now and students still don’t have access to the grants they need.”
The plan includes, but is not limited to, $10 million for school safety grants, $16.6 million for rural hospitals and $10.7 million to improve pediatric psychiatric services.
It also earmarks close to $2 million for addressing the opioid epidemic in the state.
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