Senate Democratic statement on adjournment

AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate voted to adjourn sine die for the 2nd Regular Session of the 128th Legislature after several attempts to pass an extension failed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Legislature will not meet again unless the governor calls lawmakers back into session or two-thirds of each legislative caucus calls themselves back in.

Senate Democratic Leaders released the following statements in response:

Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash:

“This is not how government is supposed to work. In all my years of service, I have never seen anything like it. Failing to extend the session has put the health and well-being of Maine people at risk, particularly our seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Rep. Fredette may not think this is a crisis, but I can tell you it is for working families, direct care workers, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. What’s worse is that it is going to cost Maine taxpayers for us to come back in for a special session and finish the work. Forcing Maine taxpayers to foot the bill for our failure to compromise isn’t right.

Governing is about compromising when necessary in the best interest of Maine people as we’ve done many times before. Burning it down because you can’t decide what you want or don’t get your way is bad for Maine people.”

Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston:

“What’s most frustrating is that beyond the parliamentary shenanigans, all parties seem to agree on our funding needs. Our direct care workers desperately need a raise to take care of our seniors and Mainers with disabilities. We have an opioid crisis that is harming families and communities all across the state. And we have infrastructure bonds, nursing home funding and a technical education bill to pass.

There is no reason we should not complete this work for the people of Maine. These antics by House Republicans are exactly why people hate politics. Both parties in the Senate stand ready to do the work.”

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