Members of Maine’s congressional delegation responded with unanimous condemnation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this week.
“Putin's attempts to recreate the old Soviet Union have been rejected by people who have chosen freedom and democracy,” said Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a statement. “So now he has resorted to brute military force against a peaceful country that posed no threat to Russia. He has once again shown himself to be a ruthless autocrat who does not hesitate to kill innocent people while trampling international law.”
Later Thursday during an event at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Collins called the invasion “heinous” and called for a united front among Congress, the White House and U.S. allies against Russia coupled with strong sanctions, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News.
Sen. Angus King, an independent, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of single-handedly deciding “to end decades of peace among the nations of Europe on the basis of invented grievances and outright lies.”
“His weakness of character will not be rewarded,” King said in a statement. “Ukraine will stand strong, and the United States, our Allies, and our partners in the free world will stand with them to ensure that Russia feels the consequences of its invasion. This attack will not achieve Putin’s goal to seemingly reconstitute the Soviet Union; it will only create unnecessary human suffering.”
Both King and Collins serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which typically receives classified briefings on international or domestic threats.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st District also pledged that the U.S. will stand with the Ukrainian people.
“President Biden’s new imposition of overwhelming sanctions on Russia is merited,” Pingree said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Vladimir Putin, his circle of oligarch enablers, and the Russian economy must be punished for invading the sovereign democracy of Ukraine. Russia is now a rogue state and the terror inflicted on innocent Ukrainians will be on Russia’s shoulders alone. America must now stand united with our allies and partners in opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”
Rep. Jared Golden, D-District 2, had not issued a statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Pulse's deadline on Friday morning. Earlier in the week, he had expressed support for President Biden's earlier sanctions and said "if the people of Ukraine are willing to resist Putin’s invasion of their country, then the Biden Administration should make clear that America will ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to fight for their freedom.”
The reactions from Maine’s delegation fell within the mainstream of the responses from members of their respective parties. But they were not in line with the views of the far right, or left. On the left, and among some Green Independents, there has been a call to not to use sanctions to respond to Putin’s aggression, and in some instances, an acceptance of his rationale for the invasion. The most obvious examples on the right are from FOX News TV personalities and from former President Donald Trump, who heaped praise on Putin’s “savvy” and “genius” tactics, including the Russian leader’s bogus pretext for the invasion.
Mills’ utility accountability bill faces opposition
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ utility accountability bill is facing stiff opposition from Maine’s two largest utility companies, as well as the activists who want to seize their assets and replace the investor-based ownership with a private nonprofit run by an elected board.
The two-pronged opposition is not surprising. The governor’s proposal seeks to split the difference between a status quo that has enraged ratepayers and an outright utility takeover, an issue that could be on the 2023 statewide ballot. Mills’ bill is a possible threat that could undermine the takeover campaign’s effort by undercutting supporters’ key argument: Central Maine Power and Versant Power are monopolies that have trampled ratepayers with poor customer service and reliability, and state regulators won’t hold them accountable.
Activists associated with Our Power, the group leading the ballot campaign, argued during Tuesday’s public hearing that the governor’s proposal actually defends the status quo by leaving oversight and sanctioning duties in the hands of the Public Utilities Commission.
“Trying to create accountability of these electric monopolies through consolidating more power to the governor's office and the PUC is the path of this proposal," Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, a supporter of the takeover effort, told the Legislature’s Energy and Utilities Committee on Tuesday. "It's wrongheaded and ignores the fundamental problem: foreign investor ownership.”
Meanwhile, officials from CMP and Versant asserted that there’s no need for the whistleblower protections, expansive financial auditing, stiffer penalties and divestiture pathway — albeit a somewhat nebulous one — included in the governor’s bill.
"The PUC has the authority it needs to do its job, to ensure safe, adequate service at just and reasonable rates. How do we know that? Recent history," CMP president Joe Purington testified.
Purington was referring to the PUC's recent penalty for poor customer service and a botched billing system rollout, which resulted in more than $12 million in lost profits. The utility regulator recently lifted that penalty while broadening its probe into CMP's management practices.
But from Purington's perspective, the PUC sanctions showed that it’s already equipped with accountability tools. He argued that steeper financial penalties or a clearer pathway to divestiture are punitive steps.
The opposition from CMP and Versant was also expected. But a key question is just how strident is it? The answer may well determine the final fate of the governor’s bill in the Legislature.
Both companies, and CMP in particular, have proven effective at influencing legislators. CMP and its lobbyists defeated proposals deemed hostile to its controversial transmission corridor, including one bill that would have studied its purported effects on greenhouse gas emissions.
Last year the utilities successfully narrowed the approval margins on a legislative version of the takeover bill to a point where it was all but assured that the governor’s veto of it would stand. (And it did. The House override vote was 68-65, well short of the two-thirds needed to override the governor.)
Such legislative victories were assisted by extensive lobbying efforts and it’s unclear if one of those awaits the governor’s accountability bill. It’s worth noting that representatives from both companies indicated in written testimony that they are willing to work with the governor and the bill’s sponsors.
How exactly advocates for the utility takeover will fare in attempting to influence lawmakers is not yet clear. The bill has bipartisan co-sponsors and the support of Democratic House Speaker Ryan Fecteau.
Still, some supporters have noted that this week’s public hearing was a show of force on behalf of Our Power. Opponents of the governor’s bill significantly outnumbered supporters.
But lopsided public hearings are rarely good indicators of a bill’s destiny in the Legislature. Just ask the dozens of people who testified in support of the utility takeover bill. They too vastly outnumbered opponents.
Meanwhile in the Arctic . . .
King is also calling for the U.S. to mount a more robust response to the opportunities and challenges – including military challenges – that are emerging in the Arctic region as the climate warms. And King is pointing to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine as one reason for that response.
In a piece entitled “Maine and the Global Arctic,” published by the nonpartisan Wilson Center in Washington, King called for the creation of an Assistant Secretary of Arctic Affairs within the executive branch as well as a massive investment in new icebreaker ships.
King also called for continued investment in the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor, which he said is capable of supporting operations in the Arctic.
“As tensions run high in other parts of the world – particularly in Ukraine – U.S. policymakers, in concert with our allies and partners, will need to decide if Russia’s aggression merits a response that impacts their interests and strategic objectives in the Arctic,” King wrote in Wilson Quarterly.
“After all, Russia generates ~10% of its GDP in the Arctic Circle,” King continued. “While I believe the U.S. should continue to work alongside all Arctic nations – including Russia – to support a ‘High North, Low Tensions’ model of diplomacy, I also believe we should not rule out more severe policies should Russia invade Ukraine.“
Divvying up the surplus
Back in Augusta, members of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee are set to delve into Mills’ proposal for spending a revenue surplus projected to top $800 million.
The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is slated to begin holding public hearings starting Monday on Mills’ supplemental budget proposal. The hearings will run for more than a week and will be organized around which state department would administer those budget items.
First up on Monday will be proposals within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, followed by the Department of Education and higher education programs on Tuesday.
A full schedule of the public hearings can be found here: https://legislature.maine.gov/doc/8231.
Mills’ budget proposal is just that – a proposal or blueprint. The Legislature holds the proverbial purse strings in Maine and will ultimately decide how much of the projected surplus to spend or not spend. And that projected surplus figure could change on Friday when the Revenue Forecasting Committee meets to go over the latest financials for the state.
The single biggest item in Mills’ budget proposal is returning $411 million of the surplus to taxpayers in the form of $500 checks paid out to roughly 800,000 Mainers. Republicans are expected to offer a counterproposal (likely focused on longer-term tax cuts) at some point but have yet to release any details.
A move toward hybrid meetings?
While the full House and Senate have met several times at the Maine State House, committees have continued to hold all of their public hearings and work sessions virtually because of the pandemic.
On Thursday, however, the Legislature’s Taxation Committee was the first to test a hybrid model where some members Zoomed in from afar while a handful met in the committee room at the State House. Additional tests of the hybrid system are planned, but there is no time frame for when, or if, all committees will resume in-person meetings.
That call will ultimately be made by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, and Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash. Republican legislative leaders have been pushing for hybrid meetings since the beginning of the 2022 session, however.
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