Funding for a number of projects in Maine is part of a $153 billion military construction and veterans affairs budget measure that was adopted by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which aids in maintaining the Navy’s submarine fleet, and Togus, the state’s only veterans hospital, are among the almost $460 million allocated for Maine in the proposal.
In a floor speech on Thursday, Republican Sen. Susan Collins praised those investments and the bipartisan approach that resulted in a 90-8 vote to move the bill forward.
One of the least controversial spending bills the Senate will examine this year is the plan. The Republican majority’s vote last week to rescind $9 billion in foreign aid and funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB, which had previously passed on bipartisan votes, made it the subject of intense scrutiny. Maine Public, the Public Broadcasting Services, and National Public Radio are among the member stations that get financing from CPB.
The White House-backed rescinding package vote was seen by Democrats as a betrayal that deters them from working together on future spending proposals. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which Collins currently leads and is running for a sixth term next year, is also at risk from the vote.
She emphasized the value of the committee process and preserving Congress’ constitutional authority of the purse in her floor speech.
“The main method by which Congress fulfills this important constitutional duty is through the appropriations process. “We cannot abandon our constitutional duty to manage the budget,” she stated.
When Collins ran for reelection in 2020, she highlighted her rise on the appropriations committee. Nonetheless, the Trump administration’s demands for greater authority over government spending have been granted by the Republican-controlled Congress. Because of this, Democrats in Maine have criticized Collins for failing to do more to stop the administration’s attempt to take spending power away from Congress while she was on the appropriations committee.
