By Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Guest Columnist
The February of my final year as governor has been busy. But this Black History Month, and every Black History Month, we reflect on the work we’ve done to move Michigan forward and recommit ourselves to doing the work ahead.
I was excited to start Black History Month at the launch of Rx Kids in the City of Detroit. Rx Kids is a program that started in Flint and has since spread to 29 Michigan communities. It helps new familiesafford the basics while improving critical health outcomes for babies, including higher birthweights and fewer NICU admissions.
We know that 43% of those enrolled in Rx Kids are Black mothers. Rx Kids proves our commitment to investing in Michiganders and helping them thrive at a moment when the federal government has made the largest-ever cuts to health care and food assistance programs, like SNAP. In Michigan, we want moms and babies to thrive, and we’re getting that done with Rx Kids, which closes racial health gaps and helps new families focus on bringing their precious babies into the world.
Rx Kids was just the beginning. This busy month continued with the release of my eighth and final balanced budget proposal, which builds on previous investments to help set Michiganders up for success—from babies to seniors and all the years in between.
Any way we can save Michigan parents time and money translates to more support for their little ones. Affordability is on everyone’s mind, and we must work together to lower costs. My plan helps working families by ending taxes on tips and overtime, continuing the Working Families Tax Credit, fully rolling back the retirement tax, and offering new property tax relief for seniors. It also proposes a new salestax holiday to help parents buy school supplies for their kids.
Last year, DC Republicans cut Medicaid by the largest amount in US history—a trillion dollars. These massive cuts could close Michigan hospitals or clinics in rural and underserved communities and kick hundreds of thousands of Michiganders off their health care. We can’t reverse these cuts with state resources, but we can protect core services and coverage for the 2.5 million Michiganders on Medicaid while supporting providers statewide.
In Michigan and across the country, too many students cannot read at grade level. Our kids need our help. To set every student up for success, we must ensure that every child reads. My budget proposal includes the largest literacy investment in Michigan history. That means providing free PreK for All, expanded training for our teachers, and dedicated literacy resources in our schools and communities. It builds on legislation I signed in 2024 expanding instruction in proven mehtods like phonics across Michigan schools.
Beyond K-12, we’ve made community college tuition free for all high school graduates, increased scholarship opportunities to save students thousands of dollars as they earn their degrees, and established Michigan Reconnect, offering a tuition-free associate’s degree or skills training to anyone 25 and older. My budget proposal lowers the age of eligibility for Michigan Reconnect to 21, opening the program up to hundreds of thousands more young people so they can learn new skills and make more money. We’ll continue working together to save students money and grow our economy.
I’ll have more to say about all these priorities during my state of the state address on February 25th. I encourage you to tune in. This Black History Month, let’s recommit to working together to build a bright future for every Michigan family.
