The Michigan House and Senate are disagreeing on how to pass funding for improvements at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.
At an event in St. Clair Shores on Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer encouraged the Michigan Legislature to deliver funding for the Harrison Township base to her desk by June 1. The base is preparing for two new missions that will require roughly $1 billion in infrastructure updates.
Both chambers of the state Legislature have approved separate funding bills for Selfridge, but haven’t agreed on which one should move forward for the governor’s signature.
The House fast-tracked the approval of a $152 million supplemental spending plan to secure state funding for two runways at Selfridge. The Senate, on the other hand, approved in April a broader spending bill with the money for Selfridge, funding for a variety of other projects and a $350 million withdrawal from the rainy day fund, the state’s primary savings account.
Republican State Rep. Mike Harris said the House knows “how important this is for Selfridge,” and the chamber passed a funding bill for the base earlier this year and sent it to the Senate “without any strings.”
“We’ve been very public about this from the get-go on how important this was and how this needed to get done, and we’ve been working with the governor, and we’ve been working with the Air Force on trying to make this happen,” he said. “And, you know, the Senate’s actually been the problem in this.”
He said the Senate is taking the Selfridge funding and “tying it into some complicated budget bill.”
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said the latest budget passed by the Senate includes a $152 million investment in the base.
“It’s unfortunate that some are choosing to make political hay out of such an important issue when the service members at Selfridge are relying on all of us, regardless of political affiliation, to come through for them,” she said in a statement.
Selfridge’s A-10 Thunderbolt II and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft will be phased out and will be replaced with a squadron of F-15EX fighters and a squadron of KC-46 tankers. Selfridge is preparing by improving its infrastructure and facilities, which will cost around $1 billion over five to seven years, the base’s commander previously said.
Whitmer said on Monday that she was “encouraged” that both chambers of the Legislature included funding for Selfridge in their budgets.
“So I do have an ask of all of you: please make sure your legislators know how important this is that it happens in the next few weeks,” she said to a Macomb County audience. “There’s just six legislative session days between now and then, and so we can get this done, but everyone’s got to work together and get it over the finish line.”
Harris said this is “truly about keeping Selfridge open” and getting the project started.
“We know there’s a timeline, and we know how important this is to Macomb County and our military, and, you know, Selfridge supports that local economy out there,” he said.
He said he doesn’t know if June 1 is the exact deadline.
“But, I mean, this is … right around the timeline that we’ve been working with the government on and working with the Air Force on to make sure this gets done, right?” Harris said.
When asked about Whitmer’s remarks, Brinks said the governor is “right” and noted that lawmakers are at a “critical moment” to secure funding for Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
“And we are on track to do so, thanks to the leadership of Sen. Kevin Hertel, who has already worked across the aisle to secure more than $60 million for the base in recent years,” she said.
Hertel, a St. Clair Shores Democrat, said in a statement in April that Selfridge is an asset to the entire state and the nation.
“The men and women who serve there play a critical role in protecting our country while helping drive our economy and support jobs here at home,” he said. “That’s why I’ve made it a top priority to fight for the resources needed to modernize the base.”
House Speaker Matt Hall said earlier this year that the state funding is meant to expedite federal infrastructure improvements needed to secure a fighter mission at the base before the end of 2028, when President Donald Trump leaves office.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: State lawmakers point fingers on funding for Selfridge updates
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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