A bill to fund upgrades at Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base is going to the governor after passing the state Senate Wednesday.
The legislation would spend $152 million on runway building and other construction to support a new mission that would allow the base to stay open.
Selfridge sits in Democratic state Senator Kevin Hertel’s (D-St. Clair Shores) district. Hertel said waiting much longer to pass the spending bill would have potentially threatened the project.
“If we weren't able to get it across the finish line, you were going to see a delay in the process to go out to bid for some of that construction and permitting and all of those things. And so, we wanted to make sure the department had enough time to do all that without any delay.” Hertel said.
Supporters of the bill have long argued that the project needs to get done before President Donald Trump leaves office.
The new fighter mission at the base was assigned to Selfridge after Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) visited the White House to lobby the president last year. Members of Michigan’s congressional delegation on both sides of the aisle also pushed for the project.
The fear was that the next presidential administration could reverse course, especially if significant construction hasn't gotten underway.
Hertel said any president should be concerned with saving the base, but he understood the urgency.
“I think there is a reality because of how this mission was awarded to Selfridge, it is fragile and we need to do everything we can from a state to show our commitment to getting this project done,” Hertel said.
The bill to fund repair work at the base started in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives earlier this spring. House leadership accused Senate Democratic leadership of sitting on it and stalling until it would be too late.
The Senate included Selfridge funding in a recent budget proposal. But Republicans criticized it as not urgent enough and for including other spending alongside it.
After the Senate approved just the Selfridge money on Wednesday, many House Republicans declared victory.
State Representative Jay DeBoyer’s (R-Clay) district also covers part of the base. He said it was time for the Senate to pass the bill.
“I mean we’re talking about national defense and the wellbeing of the state as a whole. That’s not a Republican or Democrat issue, that’s a people issue. And so, I think they, I think they, they saw the light,” DeBoyer said.
The bill passed the state Senate with full support. Whitmer has already signaled support for it in her own press release.
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