Yesterday, Senator Susan Collins spoke on the Senate floor in favor of ramming through a coronavirus relief package that puts corporations first and doesn’t do nearly enough to help workers and families in Maine. The bill she voted to advance included a $500 billion corporate giveaway that would give the Trump administration the authority to bail out big businesses -- without sufficient  assurances that corporations won’t use the taxpayer funds for stock buybacks or CEO bonuses -- and hide the details from the American people. Meanwhile, Collins decried negotiation efforts seeking to include more protections for workers and relief for our nation’s overwhelmed hospitals.

 

In 2009, when the Senate was negotiating another major stimulus bill, Senator Collins used her leverage to insist on major changes to the package, including eliminating $870 billion in funding for pandemic preparedness. But now, when other senators are negotiating to ensure additional resources for our hospitals and public health infrastructure, key protections for workers, and accountability for corporate relief programs, Collins is demanding that the Senate ram the bill through without ensuring relief goes to those who really need it -- health care professionals on the front lines and working families.

 

“What we need is support for working Mainers, not another no-strings-attached corporate bailout,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “It’s disappointing to see Senator Collins working to force through an inadequate bill rather than joining with negotiators who are fighting to secure more resources for our hospitals and working families.”

 

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