Dear Friends,

It has been an honor to serve the great people of West Michigan in the Senate since I took office late last year. With a new year underway, we are already hard at work for you.

To better serve you, I am offering this e-newsletter on what’s happening in the 28th Senate District and across our state.

I encourage you to contact me with any state issues. You may call toll-free at 1-855-347-8028 or email [email protected]. Also, please check out my Facebook page. Let me know if I can assist you in any way or if you have an idea to help move our state forward.

Working for you,
Mark Huizenga
State Senator

An important part of representing everyone in West Michigan is hearing directly from the people about the issues they are facing. I plan on holding in-person office hours throughout the district on a regular basis. They give local residents a chance to express their viewpoints about what needs to be done and offer help to people dealing with a variety of state issues.

Our next set of in-district office hours are Friday, Jan. 21 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Herman’s Boy, 220 Northland Dr. NE in Rockford and on Saturday, Jan. 29 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Anna’s House, 3874 Plainfield Ave NE in Plainfield.

Office hours are open to all residents and no appointment is necessary. Space is limited at some locations, and people are encouraged to take proper safety precautions. Anyone who is unable to attend the office hours may contact my office.

My colleagues and I have increased protections for survivors of human trafficking and continue to fight to bring this form of modern-day slavery to an end. To get involved and help put an end to this horrific crime, you can click here to visit the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force website.

The U.S. Supreme Court has 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.

While I am consistently disappointed in our state’s own executive for failing to stand up to gross overreach by the federal government, I am glad our Supreme Court has stepped in to balance the scales. It is my hope that the federal government will pull back these disastrous rules that further jeopardize our strained economy, strained supply lines, and strained hospitals. At this time, maintaining the CMS order will only exacerbate the strained workforce in hospitals and other health care facilities.

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.

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.

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. 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.

An auditor general report confirms the number of Michiganders lost to COVID-19 in long-term care facilities was much higher than the governor was willing to admit – 42% higher than numbers from her health department.

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. Members of the Michigan House and Senate Oversight committees hosted a hearing Thursday morning to examine underreported nursing home deaths in the state. You can click here to read the 13-page report.

Did you know that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer? What makes radon so deadly is that it cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. The only way to be aware of its presence is through proper testing. Testing for radon is simple, and all homes should be tested. Click here for more information on radon and testing.

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

• Information on the COVID-19 vaccines: www.Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine.
• General information, resources, testing locations and more: www.Michigan.gov/coronavirus.
• Coronavirus hotline for health-related questions: 1-888-535-6136 daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1-800-232-4636 or www.cdc.gov.
• Michigan PEER Warmline for mental health support and substance abuse challenges: 1-888-733-7753 every day from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
• National suicide prevention lifeline available 24/7: Call 1-800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.