Staff Report

Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart interviews Senator Sue Bernard, Senate Republican Lead on the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

Stewart: The Governor unveiled her budget about a week or two ago and we’re starting to see what’s in it. Chief among those items appears to be this $300 check that I guess the state is going to be mailing out to qualifying individuals in Maine. Tell us a little bit about what that means.

Bernard: The $300 checks, first of all, don’t really help most people in a meaningful way. Instead, what it seems to be doing is taking a great amount of money out of the Budget Stabilization Fund — in fact, over a quarter of a billion dollars. It seems to me on its face that it’s helping to buy a campaign. The Governor is running for the U.S. Senate right now and it seems very transparent to me that the money with her name on the bottom of the checks is going out at a very appropriate time for her to get through this campaign.

Stewart: I couldn’t agree with your assessment any more on what it is that the Governor is up to with these $300 checks. What is it that Republicans have been advocating for here instead of the $300?

Bernard: What would be more meaningful to Republicans is for that money to be used in a far more meaningful way that provides long-term relief. If we were to marry it up with what the federal government has done and allow for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, etc. — that goes on for a long time. That would mean a lot more for Maine people than just $300 in this very short term.

Stewart: So, other provisions in the budget include another bailout for Maine’s Medicaid program. Meanwhile — as you and everyone who’s watching and listening knows — we’ve got a real issue with fraud here in the State of Maine. We’ve got a real issue with accountability in that program. So, tell me what’s in the budget that deals with Medicaid and maybe what’s not in the budget that should be around Medicaid.

Bernard: Well, what’s too bad about this is, again, no accountability for what goes on in Medicaid. During the last session, we bailed out Medicaid in the multi-million dollars and now the Governor is asking for the same thing again — and with no changes to make sure there’s no fraud. We’re dealing with the same problems and we’re going to be bailing out Medicaid this time if this budget passes. This will continue for the foreseeable future.

So, we really have to do something about the trouble with fraud in Medicaid. We know that it’s there, we’re looking into it and the federal government is looking into it. This is time for us to make a change. This is no change so far and I’m afraid we’re going to be putting good money after bad once again.

Stewart: You’ve been on the Appropriations Committee for a couple of years now. We’ve seen nothing but majority budget after majority budget by the Democrats, so all of this spending is pretty squarely on them. What is the difference between what the Democrats have been doing and what Republicans would do if the balance of power was to change here in Augusta?

Bernard: I think the biggest difference between the Democratic approach and the Republican approach is that legislative Democrats tend to create a problem by spending more and more. Then, what are they going to do? They have to raise taxes.

The Republicans, on the other hand, want to lower taxes. We want sustainable tax relief. We don’t want to spend money like it’s going out of style. We want to make sure we can take care of the programs that are most essential to most people.

Stewart: I couldn’t agree with you more. It seems like the Democrats down here are content with being the arsonist who created the problem as well as the firefighter pretending to try to solve it now that we’re in an election year. It’s the same thing over and over again. The only question is whether Maine people are going to realize that and do something different this time.

Senator Bernard, thank you for being with us this week. I appreciate all your insights on the budget committee and what’s going on down there. I wish you and your colleagues good fortune as you try to get your arms around what’s happening with this latest mess the Democrats have thrown out. Every taxpayer in Maine owes you a debt of gratitude for the hard work you put in fighting for them on the Appropriations Committee.

Bernard: Thank you very much. It has been my honor and my pleasure.

Senator Harold “Trey” Stewart III represents District 2, which includes communities in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. He is the Senate Republican Leader and a member of the Legislative Council.

Senator Susan Bernard represents Senate District 1, consisting of 37 communities in Northern Aroostook County. She serves on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

Text edited for clarity and brevity.