Dear Friend,

I am sure that you are aware that late last night after more than thirty hours of nonstop marathon negotiations, House Democrats put Michigan on the road to recovery by passing a bold plan to solve our unprecedented fiscal crisis. This bipartisan plan has all the components that make the solution truly historic -- it makes necessary cuts and common-sense reforms, while raising only the minimum revenue needed to avoid massive cuts to our local schools, police and fire, and healthcare services for our most vulnerable citizens.  In the end both parties supported this solution.

I have repeatedly said from the beginning that a budget solution would have to include common-sense cuts and real reforms-not accounting gimmicks-before I would even consider new revenues. The bipartisan solution that passed late last night will give our state a long-term savings of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars through very specific cuts, reforms and government streamlining.

This plan does not rely on one-time fixes; it is a lasting budget solution that cuts wasteful and inefficient spending while also making critical investments in public safety, education and job creation. To be a magnet for businesses that will bring good-paying jobs to our state, we must get our economy back up and running - and this budget plan will do just that.

Tough times call for tough choices. We have moved needed reforms, such as ending lifetime health care for legislators, pay caps on school superintendents, and the elimination of "double-dipping". We were able to identify $433.3 million in cuts and reforms needed to fix the structural problems that have pushed our state into the worst fiscal crisis since 1959.  

But cuts and reforms alone wouldn't finish the job, and I was elected to be a leader, make tough decisions, and finish the job.  There was much talk in the media during the four day marathon negotiations that took place two weeks ago about me not voting.  Let's be very clear about that process and what really happened.  During that entire process, the votes on the board were never recorded.  When the "yellow-ten", as we were called, did not register a yes or no vote, we actually stopped the income tax vote from taking place.  

I was then able to be an instrumental part in shaping the negotiating process.  When the process wasn't going in the direction that I was comfortable with, I voted "NO" on any income tax hike.  When the income tax hike came up again, I voted "NO" again.  When the question of a sales tax on certain services was brought into the negotiations, I agreed to support it ONLY if the tax would be on a very limited number of services that are not common everyday services and the $433.3 million in identified cuts and reforms were part of the solution.  

I am proud that we refused to craft a "deal" to solve this unprecedented budget crisis with massive thoughtless cuts, deceitful accounting gimmicks, or one-time fixes-(robbing Peter to pay Paul).  Last night the buck stopped in the Michigan House. We stopped the finger-pointing, put our differences aside and worked together to avoid a statewide shutdown of government services, and move Michigan forward with a real bipartisan solution to this unprecedented budget shortfall.  Rest assured that I will continue to do what's necessary to protect the hard working families and small business owners of our District, and all of Michigan to get our state back on the road to recovery.

If you have any additional concerns regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at the email or number listed below.  

Sincerely,

Mike Simpson