Dear Friend: Today’s inspirational quote is a good call to action for us today. From John Dickinson’s “The Liberty Song” from 1768: “Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all. By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.” The COVID-19 crisis facing west Michigan and our entire country is bad and getting worse. According to MLIVE, which you can see HERE, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Michigan just crossed 8,000. There have been more than 264,000 total cases in the state. In Berrien County, ther... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, issued the following statement after the Associated Press called the presidential election: “The votes have been counted, the American people have spoken, and they chose Joe Biden to serve as our next President. We have to find a way to come together, bridge divisions, and focus on solutions that help the millions who are struggling. I am raising my hand and committing to working with President-elect Biden and my colleagues on both sides of ... Read more

Dear Friend: An appropriate quote for today..."Look before or you’ll find yourself behind." Sounds like Spring forward, fall behind, right?... Ben Franklin, the mastermind that initiated Daylight Savings Time wrote that and, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” A good lesson for all of us, everyday. Yes this is the weekend that we lose DST. As much as we may all prefer not to change our clocks twice a year (and we didn’t in 1976 thanks to Jimmy Carter and ... Read more

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) with a $3.1 million federal Office of Head Start grant. KRESA has received this grant since 2013. The Office of Head Start administers grants help provide services to more than a million children every year. Head Start programs promote school readiness for children ages birth to five from low-income fami... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today urged the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve the forthcoming grant application from Midwest Energy and Communication Cooperative (MEC) to develop the Southwest Michigan Advanced Research and Technology (SMART) Park in Cassopolis. If approved, this project will create more than 1,000 jobs and bolster the local economy in southwest Michigan. “It’s no secret that the ongoing pandemic has reduced economic growth and ... Read more

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Kurt Thiede, and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced today that the City of Benton Harbor was selected to receive a $5.6 million grant to remove lead service lines and support a study to optimize the city’s lead corrosion control treatment to improve public health in Benton Harbor. “In these unprecedented times with so much uncertainty, families should be able to be certa... Read more

@MyKitchenTable: Friday, October 23, 2020 Dear Friend: Very busy week. “It’s a slow process, but quitting won’t speed it up." An apt way to describe the COVID-19 relief deal we’ve been working on for several weeks now. We’ve ebbed and flowed between having momentum and not. As I’ve been writing, folks do need help. We got carry out the other night for dinner - the restaurant is struggling. If it closes, all those staff members lose jobs. It’d be tragic. It’s stories like these that show why we n... Read more

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) and United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced a $3.3 million federal grant to help provide high-speed broadband service in southwest Michigan. The funding is part of the ReConnect Program that Upton and Congress supported in 2018. The grants recipient - Southwest Michigan Communications, Inc. – will also received a $3.3 million loan to help fund the $6.7 million project. The funding will be used to deploy... Read more

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) and his Problem Solvers Caucus (PSC) colleagues sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders encouraging them to continue negotiating on a COVID-19 relief package that includes immediate assistance to support families, small businesses, and schools as well as a resolution for a national testing strategy. “We are only 14 days away from the election, after which the prospect of moving stimulus legislation forward is very ... Read more

@MyKitchenTable: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Dear Friend: While the D.C. scene is dominated by the Senate Judiciary Committee SCOTUS hearings, the discussions continued on a COVID relief package that have been stalled for months. The former Chrysler CEO, Lee Iacocca, said, “We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” That is, in essence, the current state of affairs as discussions continue between the White House and Congressional leaders. We’re ... Read more