State Rep. Jerry Neyer on Friday released the following statement after the House passed the $78.5 billion Value for MI Dollars budget proposal. Key aspects of the plan include $3.4 billion for a long-term road funding plan, $5 billion in cuts to waste and fraud, no taxes on tips or overtime, and record funding for Michigan students and schools:

“Our goal throughout this budget process is simple: restore accountability in government and ensure transparency in how taxpayer dollars are spent. Michiganders shouldn’t have to watch their elected officials subpoena department directors just to get straightforward answers about daily operations. Yet, year after year, unelected bureaucrats in departments like EGLE, LARA, and the DNR have been handed blank checks to push regulations that everyday people can’t reasonably follow. That era of rubber-stamping ends here.

“This budget is a turning point. We are trimming the fat by cutting corporate welfare, political handouts, and interdepartmental waste, fraud, and abuse. Instead of rushing through billions of your tax dollars in March without meaningful review, Republicans went line by line and identified over $5 billion in savings. Those dollars are being redirected toward real priorities that matter to Michigan families, such as a $3 billion roads plan that doesn’t raise taxes, strengthening public safety, boosting per-pupil school funding, and delivering real tax relief.

“For years, these problems were swept under the rug. Just this spring, Senate Democrats spent $85 billion in a single week without even considering a serious roads plan. All while keeping corporate welfare and bureaucratic waste untouched. That is not responsible governing—it’s business as usual.

“Real reform is never easy, and meaningful change is always a tough pill to swallow. But this process is far from over. Our hope is to reach a compromise that proves to Michiganders their government can work across the aisle and deliver a budget that is leaner, more transparent, and focused on the true needs of our state.”

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