Experts told the U.S. House Budget Committee on Wednesday the country’s economic outlook is problematic, as a fierce debate over the nation’s budget remains front and center.
Author: Michigan Advance
U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. Frank Yiannas, former deputy commissioner of the FDA Office of Food Policy & Response from 2018 to 2023, said, “[…]The nation remains one outbreak, one tornado, one flood, or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022.”
Following the sunset of the federal government’s pandemic-related programs like extended unemployment and rental assistance, about 1.3 million Michiganders will receive at least $95 less in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning this month, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The 600-page volume — which the authors describe as “arguably the most comprehensive analysis of opioids in 21st century America” — encourages federal, state and local lawmakers to think “beyond traditional silos” and innovate ways to stem adverse effects of addiction and increasing drug overdose deaths among Americans.
Garnering uniform support among Democrats and largely condemnation from Republicans, Senate Bills 76–86 would mandate universal background checks for all firearm purchases in Michigan, require that gun owners safely store firearms that could be accessed by minors, and permit a court to order the temporary removal of guns from someone who may be a danger to themselves or others.
With Thursday’s planned signing by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of an expansion of the 1973 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), LGBTQ+ advocates are savoring a hard-fought victory and looking ahead to where the fight for equal rights goes now.
Nearly 300 incarcerated Michiganders, currently serving out life sentences for crimes they committed while juveniles without the possibility of parole, may finally be closer to having their sentences reconsidered — more than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled those sentences unconstitutional.
With Monday morning’s announcement that U.S. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing) was officially in the running for U.S. Senate, the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) in 2024 is starting to take shape.
Rural hospitals were already closing at a rapid rate before the pandemic — more than 150 closed between 2005 and 2019, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Without the federal money to prop them up, the Center estimates that 200 rural hospitals across the country are at risk of closing within the next two to three years.
In Michigan, about 566,000 applications from student loan borrowers were fully approved and their applications were sent to loan servicers for discharge prior to federal lawsuits and an injunction on providing the debt relief.
Senate Bill 7 provides a funding boost for small businesses, housing, health care, job retention programs, family programs, water shutoff prevention and more.
A court ruling means Michigan’s minimum wage workers will not be seeing a nearly three dollar per hour increase in their pay next month
While voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment expanding voting rights in November, the work to put Proposal 2 in place is only just getting started.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) announced earlier this month that she would not seek reelection in 2024, saying it was time for the next generation of leaders to ascend.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday plans to protect election officials and crack down on those intentionally sharing misinformation about elections and voting.
Under the proposed rule, undergraduate borrowers would only be required to pay 5% of their income toward their loans, which would be down from the 10% required under the current income-driven repayment plan. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that the proposed regulation will help create a faster pathway to federal loan forgiveness and help those borrowers avoid defaulting on their loans.
Proponents of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act — both included as amendments to the spending bill — say the measures clarify rights for these workers, who weren’t properly covered under existing laws.
After four terms as a U.S. senator, Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow said Thursday morning that she will not seek reelection in 2024.