LocalMichiganNews

Gov. Snyder calls Medicaid expansion a success in Michigan State of State address

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Latest on Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address (all times local):

8:05 p.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he will try to persuade Republicans in Congress that the state’s Medicaid expansion is a success and a model that can work nationally.

In his seventh annual State of the State address Tuesday night, the Republican governor said “we hope for the best, but we can’t count on it.” He will travel to Washington on Thursday to discuss the Medicaid expansion, which has provided health insurance to 600,000 low-income adults in Michigan but which is in jeopardy as Republicans seek to repeal the federal health care law.

Snyder says Michigan should be “speaking up” about the expansion.

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7:10 p.m.

Gov. Rick Snyder says Flint’s water crisis and a sinkhole in suburban Detroit show the need to start discussing how to pay for billions of dollars in needed infrastructure upgrades over the next several decades.

He is not proposing a specific way to pay for water, sewer and other infrastructure projects. But he made infrastructure a theme in his seventh annual State of the State address Tuesday night to the Legislature.

The Republican governor tells The Associated Press that to start, there must be better coordination so local road, sewer and other projects occur simultaneously to save money.

In December, an infrastructure commission formed by Snyder identified the need for $4 billion more annually to upgrade roads, water systems and other key infrastructure such as pipelines and broadband Internet.

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4:45 p.m.

Michigan Rep. Dan Kildee says Gov. Rick Snyder must do more to resolve Flint’s water crisis a year after it was a major focus of his State of the State address.

The Republican governor will deliver his seventh annual speech Tuesday night. Kildee, a Democratic congressman who may run for governor, says the Flint emergency is Snyder’s responsibility and “they need to do more.”

Flint’s water quality is improving after it became contaminated with lead due to improper treatment. But residents are still using faucet filters or bottled water.

Kildee, speaking with reporters in Lansing, says the crisis isn’t over.

He says he hasn’t decided yet on running for governor in 2018 but doesn’t think voters are ready to move beyond the presidential race to focus on another election.

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1 a.m.

Gov. Rick Snyder will deliver his seventh State of the State address to a joint session of the Michigan Legislature.

The Republican’s speech Tuesday night comes a year after he devoted much of his address to discussing Flint’s water emergency at a time he faced heavy criticism for failures that led to and prolonged the crisis.

He will again surely discuss Flint, where officials say lead levels continue to decrease. The state has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars toward the man-made disaster.

Snyder has been tight-lipped about his speech. But he has spoken often of how Flint’s woes should spur a commitment to replacing aging water pipes and other infrastructure across Michigan.

Funding is an issue. His call last year for $165 million resulted in $5 million instead.

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