While Paul LePage campaigns on inflation today, Governor Janet Mills and a bipartisan coalition in the Legislature have already taken action to help Maine people.
Governor Mills has delivered one of the strongest inflation relief measures in the country. Thanks to her leadership, more than 850,000 Maine people have received an $850 inflation relief check, with the average Maine family receiving $1,700 to help them with high costs.
LePage, on the other hand, has repeatedly denounced the inflation relief program as a “gimmick” and “one of the worst things we could possibly do”--although, of course he himself says he cashed his own relief check. According to Maine outlets, LePage’s plan to deal with inflation “defies logic” and relies on cutting taxes that don’t exist. And inflation is just one of a number of issues where LePage does not appear to have a serious plan to help Mainers.
“We hear every day how grateful Maine people are for the $850 inflation relief checks Governor Mills delivered,” said Misha Linnehan, spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party. “They also tell us how grateful they are to have a Governor who fights problems, not people, and who they know will continue to stand up for them. There’s only one candidate in the race for Governor with a record of delivering inflation relief and lowering costs for Maine people - and that’s Governor Mills.”
In addition to the $850 checks, Governor Mills has worked with the Legislature to help Maine people and small businesses with high costs by:
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Providing a one-time energy bill credit of more than $2,000 to 2,919 Maine small businesses and nonprofit organizations of Central Maine Power and Versant;
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Providing up to $1,400 in tax relief (PDF) for eligible low- and middle-income Maine families and seniors;
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Securing a one-time energy bill credit of $90 for tens of thousands of low-income customers of Central Maine Power and Versant;
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Providing $800 in heating cost relief to nearly 13,000 low-income households to help pay for high energy costs;
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Successfully pressing for increased funding for federal heating assistance programs to help Maine households with oil bills this winter;
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MaineHousing has advanced $11 million in heating relief funds to nearly 11,000 households, of which 7,200 are seniors aged 65 and older.