AUGUSTA, Maine — Shenna Bellows, the Democratic nominee for one of Maine’s two U.S. Senate seats, said Friday that she favors funding her sweeping economic plan by advocating for deep cuts in defense spending and the criminal justice system.
Bellows, who is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the November election but is lagging far behind the three-term incumbent in the polls, said Congress needs to reprioritize the federal budget and make much larger domestic investments, ranging from making student loans cheaper to upgrading public infrastructure and bolstering small businesses.
“This Congress has expanded tremendously spending for military and defense,” said Bellows on Friday during a news conference at the State House. “We are going into another overseas conflict we can’t afford, and we’ve already spent more than $1 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those are wars we could not afford, and we need to refocus our priorities and federal tax dollars in investing in infrastructure in local communities.”
Collins campaign spokesman Lance Dutson said in a written statement in response to questions from the BDN that now is the wrong time to cut defense spending.
“The Obama administration has already cut $800 billion from the defense budget,” wrote Dutson. “It is ironic that, at a time when the threat from terrorist groups like ISIL continues to grow and an Ebola outbreak has necessitated emergency relief aid from the U.S. military, Shenna is proposing deeper cuts in our defense spending.”
Advocating for cuts to major military spending is a place most politicians won’t go, especially in states such as Maine, where the economy depends heavily on defense contractors.
Collins, who released her own economic development plan months ago, has never advocated strongly for military spending cuts and has gained a reputation as one of the strongest voices in support of Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which employ thousands of Mainers constructing destroyers and maintaining submarines for the U.S. Navy. Three labor unions at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and four at Bath Iron Works, among others, have endorsed Collins, making her rare among Republicans, who usually don’t enjoy support from unions.
Bellows criticized Collins and congressional Republicans for putting the federal budget in its dire situation with tax cuts, banking system deregulation and military spending.
“Susan has voted for many proposals that have brought us to the point of widespread economic insecurity,” she said. “Her votes have brought us to this place of significant national debt.”
Dutson said it’s plans like Bellows’ that are the problem.
“Shenna’s plan claims to be a road map to increasing jobs but she continues to embrace job-killing policies that stifle growth in our small businesses and discourage entrepreneurs,” wrote Dutson. “There is a reason why both the [U.S.] Chamber of Commerce and the four labor unions at Bath Iron Works have endorsed Sen. Collins.”
The economic plan Bellows touted Friday contains many of the initiatives she has been talking about for months, as well as some new ones. Most of her proposals involve bolstering current programs, including lengthening the time laid-off workers can collect unemployment benefits, expanding retraining programs, making small-business loans cheaper and creating a small-business extension service, overhauling student loan programs, investing in renewable energy programs, raising the federal minimum wage and expanding Social Security.
Bellows reiterated her support for making the Social Security funding system more secure by eliminating a cap on payments into the system which has everyone with an annual income of about $114,000 and above paying the same amount. She also previously voiced support for the RAISE Act, which would increase payroll taxes on any wages in excess of $400,000.
Dutson said many of these policies would kill jobs, including expecting higher earners to pay more into Social Security, because that also would require employers to pay more. He said Collins is “committed to strengthening and preserving Social Security” but did not say how.
“We need to look at options for ensuring the future stability of Social Security, including a consideration of raising the cap on higher wage earners, but we should not increase payroll tax rates which are already too burdensome for working families, small businesses and those who are self-employed,” said Dutson.
Bellows, asked whether she has any path to victory against Collins, said that “surprises happen in elections all the time,” but it’s highly unlikely in this case. Recent polls have shown her up to 40 percentage points behind the Republican.
