Maine’s two U.S. House members are on record as voting against President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to fund the federal government and suspend the debt ceiling.
Democratic Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden joined the rest of their party and 38 Republicans in rejecting the proposal last night. The final tally was 174-235 in a vote that would’ve required a two-thirds majority to pass.
On Friday, the House passed a bipartisan continuing resolution that will avert a government shutdown.
Pingree released a statement after the approval of the spending plan, saying in part:
While I was glad to see that the package retained disaster relief and farm aid, the bill did not include funding for a slew of critical bipartisan health care provisions, including support for pediatric cancer research, treating substance use disorder, and pandemic prevention. In addition, the bill was stripped of funding for orphan Farm Bill programs, such as the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, that will otherwise go unsupported and protections against SNAP benefit skimming, which has become more common in Maine. These protections are crucial to safeguarding food security for vulnerable families and ensuring stability for those who rely on federal support during these challenging times.
The continuing resolution keeps the federal government funded until March 14th, 2025.
