LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, issued the following statement on Wednesday in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2021 State of the State address:
“Our governor laid out a number of her priorities tonight and called for bipartisan action from the Legislature. However, actions speak louder than words.
“Over the last few years we have put our hands out time and time again, only to be ignored. We saw it with roads, we’ve seen it in the budget processes, and we’ve seen it since the early days of this pandemic.
“The core issue we need to focus on is getting our economy back on track. Businesses have been shuttered for far too long. People need certainty that they will be able to make a living — which is a fundamental American right. We cannot continue to have one person making decisions for every single Michigan resident. It’s not right, it’s patently unfair, and it flies in the face of our values as both Michiganders and Americans.
“I will continue working to provide relief to businesses that are hurting, and I am willing to work with the administration to come up with a plan that allows them to safely reopen their doors.
“These efforts are long overdue, and I hope we see some genuine action out of the governor on this front instead of lockdowns with arbitrary deadlines and repeated changes to the rules like we have seen thus far. I’d like to see her provide some clear guidance to Michiganders instead of stringing them along with talking points instead of action.
“We also need to get our kids back into schools, competing in sports and having the much-needed social interactions that young kids and teens need to grow and thrive. We’re seeing a terrible mental health problem growing in our state and I think letting kids get back to being around and interacting with one another will be a huge step in addressing that issue.
“People are tired of the games and unreasonable proposals; they want to see real, meaningful action that improves their quality of life, not unilateral action that hinders or even prevents them from providing for their family.
“I hope she means the things she said during her speech tonight; however, three years’ worth of actions speak much louder than a few words written on a piece of paper.”
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