Thanks to Sen. Susan Collins, Mainers dodged a few horrible health care bills that would have restructured Medicaid and left millions without health insurance. But the fight to maintain critical anti-poverty programs continues.

The House and Senate are making budget decisions that potentially involve drastic cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and other programs that help working families, kids, seniors, and people with disabilities. In Maine specifically, the potential cuts to heating assistance will threaten almost 40,000 residents this winter.

Why would Congress leave people out in the cold? To fund their plan for tax cuts — cuts that everyone agrees overwhelmingly benefit wealthy Americans.

I call on Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin to have the courage of Sen. Collins and do what’s right. SNAP lifted 3.6 million Americans out of poverty last year, while the earned income and child tax credits did the same for 8.2 million.

You must support programs that work for the working poor, not tax cuts that enrich the richest.

Alison Hall

Greenville


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