With each administration of late we’ve seen both political parties demonstrate their addiction to ever-greater doses of executive power without regard to constitutional limits. In our constitutional structure, the framers left it primarily to Congress to check the executive. But for decades Congress has found it politically expedient to ignore many of the tools given to it for curbing executive overreach.

Sen. Collins, however, has been working to exercise this congressional authority. She’s voted twice to reclaim Congress’ power over tariffs to protect Maine’s trade with Canada and voted to end a Biden-era slush fund not authorized by Congress: Biden’s FCC tried to expand E-Rate, a program that pays for internet service in schools and libraries, for Wi-Fi hotspots for use on school buses and elsewhere.

As a former trustee of the University of Maine System, I have seen firsthand the scandalous decline in student proficiencies, at the same time the proliferation of smartphones has negatively affected our students’ well-being. Pushing more screen time on kids is a terrible idea on its own. Doing so when Congress never authorized the funding is unconstitutional. Unsurprisingly, most of the money went to California, so fortunately small states like Maine barely saw any of it.

We should be grateful to Sen. Collins for voting to overturn this harmful and unconstitutional abuse of executive power, and for her willingness to oppose presidential overreach — regardless of who’s doing it.

Jim Erwin
Yarmouth