State Representative Ron Robinson criticized Senator Kevin Hertel on May 1 for reversing his position on funding for the Selfridge Air National Guard Base, saying that recent Senate actions could delay critical construction projects.
Robinson said the issue is important because timely funding is needed to begin construction of new runways at Selfridge, which supports a new fighter mission announced last year by Donald Trump. He said the state must act in May to meet an accelerated timeline and protect thousands of jobs connected to the base.
According to Robinson, nearly two months ago he and House colleagues approved a bipartisan supplemental bill with $152 million allocated for Selfridge runway construction. However, he said the Senate recently voted to tie this funding to passage of a new state budget, which is not due until July and last year was not finalized until October.
“I fought to get this funding done and get it done fast,” Robinson (R-Utica) said. “Selfridge is too important to get wrapped up in Lansing politics.” He also said that during Senate action this week, Republicans proposed an amendment focused solely on Selfridge funding so construction could start immediately. According to Robinson, Hertel and some Senate Democrats initially supported this approach but later changed their votes in favor of a broader spending plan linked with ongoing budget negotiations.
“They had a chance to keep this clean and get it done,” Robinson said. “Sen. Hertel voted for a standalone Selfridge plan, then backed off and helped pack it with unrelated spending… That’s a flip-flop, plain and simple.” He added that tying the project’s funds into larger negotiations risks unnecessary delays at an important time: “We already passed a bipartisan plan in the House to get this moving right away… Instead of following through, Senate Democrats turned it into a bargaining chip…”
Robinson called on the Senate to pass what he described as a clean supplemental bill so work can begin without delay: “This should not be complicated,” he said. “Fund Selfridge. Get construction started. Protect the mission and the jobs. No games.”
