LANSING – State Representative Joan Bauer (D-Lansing) is inviting residents to join her for a town hall meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m., to discuss the state's budget crisis and how proposed cuts would affect residents.
"I know that many residents of the 68th District are keenly interested in the ongoing budget negotiations," said Bauer, Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education. "I want to ensure that people know what kinds of cuts are being proposed and how they would impact our community."
The community event will be held on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. at the Governor's Room in the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing. Bauer has invited Mitch Bean, the director of the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency, to provide an update on the current state of the budget.
A former teacher, Bauer has been a leading voice in the fight to protect higher education and financial aid funding for Michigan students. The Lansing lawmaker has come out strongly against the Senate's proposed elimination of the Michigan Promise Scholarship program, which provides eligible Michigan students with up to $4,000 over the course of their education.
"We're going to have to make a number of hard decisions in order to put Michigan's fiscal house in order and balance the budget," Bauer said. "However, I don't believe we should be shortchanging our kids' education, not when we want to make sure they can compete for the good-paying jobs of the 21st century. It's counterproductive to believe that we can stop giving our kids the best possible education and still make Michigan an attractive destination for businesses that are looking for a well-educated, well-trained workforce. If we're going to turn our economy around, we can't let Michigan students fall behind."