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Collins declaration of conscience

Since January, a group of us from Greater Bangor has been going every week to the offices of our federal legislators. We have shared our concerns with staffers on a number of issues, from education to immigration.

Most recently, we have focused on health care and Congress efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act. We were even able to meet directly with Sen. Susan Collins this spring to tell her how upset we were with Congresss actions to reduce Medicaid funding and take affordable health care away from Maine residents.

We are very grateful that Collins has come out against the Senates health care bill, which would end insurance coverage for almost 118,000 Mainers. Collins is so opposed to the bill that she has said she would vote against a motion to proceed with the measure and doubts it can be fixed. We applaud her strong opposition to the bill and her willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to fix the Affordable Care Act. We hope other Republican senators will see the wisdom of her position. Her action truly has been a Declaration of Conscience, like that of her hero, the late Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine.

Collins has acted in a thoughtful and courageous way to protect all of us in Maine. She has placed the needs of Maine people above partisan politics and has acted as the stateswoman we need during these difficult times. We are grateful for her listening to voters. We also especially appreciate the courtesy with which we have been treated by her staff when we visit her Bangor office.

Samantha Le

Jeanne Curran

Bangor

I sometimes wonder what percentage of Donald Trump advocates, the same who scorn legislation to provide a livable minimum wage and Medicare health care coverage for every citizen, ever supported themselves and their families on $8 per hour without benefits or health insurance. What portion of these libertarian Republicans rely on Medicare, government and military disability payments, Social Security and pensions, or an array of other tax-funded benefits and breaks? Creeping socialism is just fine if it benefits the proverbial me, free-market capitalists and the wealthiest 1 percent.

James L. McDonald

Bangor

While summer ozone season is in full swing, the House of Representatives is considering the Smoggy Skies Act, a harmful bill that would delay life-saving ozone standards.

Ground zone-level pollution, or smog, is dangerous and widespread. Millions of Americans are especially vulnerable, such as Maines children and adults with asthma.

HR 806 deserves the name Smoggy Skies Act. It would delay protections for years and permanently weaken one of the nations strongest public health laws, the Clean Air Act. This bill would make it harder to protect people from asthma attacks, emergency room visits and premature deaths from ozone pollution.

Thanks to the Clean Air Act, our nation has made great progress in cleaning up ozone and other harmful pollutants. Still, millions of Americans live where the air is unhealthy to breathe and, literally, can threaten their lives. Weakening their protection is simply wrong. The bill would put lives at risk by permanently delaying updates to limits on not just ozone, but every criteria of air pollutant. These can include carbon monoxide, lead, ozone and sulfur dioxide. The pollutants cause problems for many at-risk Americans every day, especially during the heat of summer.

Members of Congress, including Rep. Bruce Poliquin, need to save our lungs and vote no on HR 806, the Smoggy Skies Act.

Diane Haskell

Palermo

Read more from the original source:
Thursday, July 13. 2017: Sen. Collins' 'declaration of conscience,' creeping socialism, weakening clean air protections - Bangor Daily News