No, Sen. Susan Collins doesn’t get applauded for simply voting in her constitutents’ best interests. That’s her job. And, once again, it appears she cast a “No” vote when the bill’s passage was assured.

Sen. Collins could have spent the last several months lobbying her Republican colleagues about the immorality of this bill and what its passage means for our health care, the national debt and our freedoms. There’s no indication that she did.

The addition of some monies to support our struggling health care system will be insufficient. The destabilizing effect on the system will mean many more will struggle to find doctors and to access even basic care. Nursing homes will close. Thousands will die. The massive monies allotted to supercharge ICE mean more kidnappings, detention centers and flights to Third World countries. Monies that could have been invested in climate change adaptation and mitigation, job training, research and development, infrastructure, etc.

The $3.5 trillion to $4 trillion added to the debt over the next decade will negatively affect jobs, wages and inflation and will mean we’ll pay more to borrow to buy a home, a car or anything else. The interest we’ll have to pay on that debt will leave us weaker and poorer as a nation.

Sen. Collins and her Republican colleagues have enabled President Trump and the MAGA movement every step of the way. The passage of this bill is a national tragedy that every American will feel the effects of.

Mary Ann Larson
Bangor