UP Gazette

State Representative Greg Markkanen expressed dissatisfaction with the Senate Democrats' higher education budget proposals. The proposed budgets include $15 million aimed at assisting affluent college graduates in repaying student loans and introduce new requirements for universities and community colleges that would contravene federal policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming.

"Senate Democrats must be in some deep trouble if they’re trying to use the state budget process to pay off their student loan debt," said Markkanen, who chairs the House committee overseeing higher education budgets. "House Republicans are trying to find ways to cut spending while making college more affordable. Senate Democrats are hellbent on recycling old, failed policies from the Biden/Harris administration."

The proposals also stipulate that colleges and universities report any changes to DEI programming and submit plans to mitigate 'negative consequences' related to program reductions.

"President Trump is getting rid of DEI at the federal level, and I’m going to do the same here in Michigan," Markkanen stated. "We’re not going to let Senate Democrats create a backdoor where colleges and universities can cut DEI at the front end only to recreate it under another name. We should be focused on preparing students for the workforce, not pushing hidden political agendas."

The Senate's proposal suggests increasing the Higher Education budget from $2.3 billion to over $2.4 billion and raising the Community Colleges budget from $462 million to over $500 million. The total Senate budget proposal stands at $84.6 billion, exceeding the 2025 budget by more than $2 billion.

"The next thing they’ll ask for is a tax increase to pay for all this," Markkanen remarked.