An auditor general report will show that the governor’s Department of Health and Human Services undercounted COVID-19 deaths that occurred in long-term care facilities by 30%. The information became public due to a letter written by Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel to the Office of the Auditor General. The full report is expected to be released on Monday.

In the beginning days of the pandemic, Gov. Whitmer was warned by experts not to expose nursing homes to the virus — but she ignored them. Republicans and Democrats worked together to send her a bill to keep COVID-19 patients out of the facilities — but she promptly vetoed it. Attorney General Dana Nessel declined to investigate the governor's deadly nursing home policy.

My colleagues and I will not stop our efforts until we get answers for every family who lost a loved one.

The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration’s heavy-handed mandate forcing private businesses with more than 100 employees to require employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination or be tested for the virus weekly.

I was proud to support Senate Resolution 83 earlier this year that condemned President Joe Biden’s decision to impose vaccine requirements on private employers and urged the governor and attorney general of Michigan to pursue all available avenues to challenge the unlawful mandate. During the first day of session of 2022, the Michigan Senate adopted Senate Resolution 101, a resolution condemning President Biden’s Head Start vaccine and mask mandate.

The Senate and House Oversight committees held a joint hearing to discuss a Deloitte and Touche investigation into imposter fraud and intentional misrepresentation payments made by the Unemployment Insurance Agency.

According to the Deloitte report, the agency is alleged to have squandered up to $8.5 billion in fraudulent jobless claims throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The new report follows a recent state Office of the Auditor General audit indicating $3.9 billion had been paid out to ineligible recipients due to the agency ignoring federal rules.

There are unanswered questions that the department needs to address like who specifically was responsible for preventing fraud while this was happening or who made the decisions to roll back fraud protections. The hearings will continue until we find who was responsible for these decisions and they are held accountable for their actions.

Winter is a great time to bundle up and escape to Michigan’s great outdoors!

With more than 3,000 miles of cross-country ski trails, nearly 1,000 downhill ski runs, 6,500 miles of snowmobile trails, 11,000 inland lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams, you are never far from your next outdoor adventure.

Below is a list of resources available to you if you need any type of assistance. Additionally, you can contact my office at any time for more information.