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Granholm returning from governors' meeting in DC

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

UNDATED – Governor Granholm returns from Washington D. C. Tuesday following a meeting of the National Governors Association. She and the other governors met Monday with President Obama to talk about jobs and health care. Great Lakes governors were also briefed about the administration's plans for protecting and improving the lakes.

Governor Granholm appeared on MSNBC to call on Congress to pass the Obama administration's jobs plan to help the 700 thousand unemployed people in Michigan.

"We do have to extend unemployment benefits," Granholm said. "States across the country have no money to do this. It is a congressional action that's necessary and there are millions of people who are relying on it."

Michigan has advised half a million people receiving unemployment that their benefits will not last through the summer without congressional action.

Governors were also briefed on the Obama administration's $2 billion Great Lakes cleanup plan. Granholm says she appreciates the president's commitment to protecting the lakes. But some Midwest officials are critical of how much money is being siphoned from the Great Lakes cleanup fund to combat a potential infestation of the invasive Asian carp.

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