THE STATE OF MICHIGAN'S FIRST
Economics
We are finally witnessing economic recovery. Inflation is falling. Unemployment is down, and interest rates are on the verge of decreasing. We cannot stop fighting for livable wages across rural America. All jobs should be dignified and respected.
The economic vitality of MI01 will continue to improve if we strengthen our infrastructure, improve our public education, provide an excellent place to live, and attract small businesses to join us.
Education
We continue to have challenges in public education, including outlining our long-term plans with decreasing student enrollment and the recruitment and retention of educators.
We need to improve, innovate and expand. I look forward to state and national initiatives involving Pre K 3-4 year education and postsecondary training and education, making it accessible and affordable. Our future depends on it.
Housing
The housing shortage continues. In some areas, available and affordable housing is at a crisis level. I look forward to federal and state assistance to help address this problem. I commend initiatives by local municipalities and community leaders to stay ahead of the issue. Working together at the local, state, and federal levels, both publicly and privately, this problem can be resolved.
There are many causes of unattainable housing, but the main culprit is a lack of supply, a problem unresolved over several generations.
Childcare
Unaffordable and unavailable childcare is terrible for our district's economy. It is causing high employee absence rates, turnover, postponement of education and training, reduced hours, and, ultimately, parents leaving the workforce. Working families deserve relief.
Rural Health Care
It is unacceptable for a child to receive a medical bill of $700 for a 5-minute urgent care visit and X-ray. A physical exam doesn't have to cost $450, and a pneumonia hospitalization with a price tag of $20,000 is despicable and wrong.
No one should go bankrupt because of a medical bill.
Thousands of Northern Michiganders and Yoopers are losing their Medicaid coverage, and replacing it with subsidized insurance with $5K-10K deductibles isn't acceptable. We need a publicly financed, non-profit, national health insurance program to help cover all Americans' medical care costs.
Patchwork improvements by innovative healthcare providers, clinics, and hospitals throughout the district are encouraging. However, National leaders in Congress are not doing enough to advocate for accessible healthcare for America's most vulnerable, rural patients.
Healthcare is a fundamental human right.
Working Together
Like many in Michigan's First District, I worry about my country. Can we work together to solve our problems? When half of the leadership offered ovations, and others jeered, our national divisions were fully displayed during President Biden's SOTU address.
Is this what America needs? We need problem-solving, regardless of the source. We need leadership for all. We need unity, not division. We must work together to address the needs of the 1st District, Michigan, and the Nation. It isn't a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate and President. It's the People's House, Senate, and President. The same goes for our state, county, and city governments.
Throughout it all, we can never forget ordinary, everyday people—the rural workers, seniors, and youth. We need to invest in people, protect our environment, and celebrate each other's individuality. We must embrace America's multiculturalism and our distinct vantage points. We must remember that the role of government at all levels—local, state, and federal—is to serve, protect, and provide for the general well-being of its citizens.
The people of Michigan's 1st district embody resiliency. Politically, we are as diverse as anywhere in the United States, but our commonalities allow us to show the Nation how united we can be.
In Northern Michigan and the UP, we work hard and play hard, and we're all intricately linked with each other's hardships and successes. We tackle problems with grit, strength, and loyalty to our friends, family, neighbors, and communities. If our representatives legislated with the same fiercely independent spirit as their constituents, the strength of our district would rival anywhere in the country.
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