PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 8, 2021
An important part of our Maine brand is a clean and healthy environment. Every day, our families enjoy the great outdoors. Every year, tens of millions of visitors, and the tourist dollars they bring, come to Maine to experience our natural environment. Our renowned hospitality industry employs over 100,000 fellow Mainers. A clean environment is an integral piece of our way of life and critical to Maine’s economy. The U.S. Senate is debating another $1.7 trillionentitlement spending package, which the House Democrat majority already passed. Beyond the unfathomable amount of additional taxpayer dollars, the so-called reconciliation bill includes a number of new taxes, including one on natural gas that will further raise the cost to heat thousands of Mainers by 12 to 34 percent. Washington should use some Maine common sense to help our families get through another long winter. ~ Bruce Poliquin, former Republican U.S. representative from Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and a candidate for the 2nd District Republican nomination in 2022, Orrington