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An advertisement attacking Sen. Susan Collins successful Maine claimed that she voted “to rise healthcare costs and rise security premiums,” arsenic good arsenic springiness President Donald Trump “a blank cheque for his warfare successful Iran.” But neither assertion afloat explains Collins’ much nuanced presumption connected those issues.
For the healthcare claims, the advertisement cites her vote successful September against a Democratic bill to, among different things, temporarily money the national authorities and permanently widen enhanced Affordable Care Act wellness security subsidies beyond 2025. But Collins did enactment extending the subsidies with immoderate restrictions — however, she said the hold should beryllium addressed separately from spending bills projected to forestall oregon extremity a authorities shutdown.
As for the Iran war, Collins initially voted against multiple war powers resolutions filed by Democrats to necessitate the Trump medication to get legislature authorization to proceed the associated U.S.-Israeli cognition that began with airstrikes connected Iran successful precocious February. But she besides signaled that she would alteration her ballot to necessitate authorization by Congress if the struggle with Iran lasted longer than 60 days — and she did. That solution yet failed.
The anti-Collins advertisement is being sponsored by Majority Forward, a nonprofit registered with the IRS arsenic a 501(c)(4) contented advocacy organization. Majority Forward is aligned with Senate Democrats who anticipation to decision Collins successful the contention for her long-held Senate spot successful Maine.
Semafor reported that the wide radical is spending $600,000 to tally the 30-second advertisement statewide. It began airing connected April 23, according to AdImpact, which tracks governmental advertising.
Health Insurance Premiums
The advertisement begins with the narrator telling Mainers: “You’re already getting squeezed, due to the fact that Susan Collins voted with Donald Trump to rise healthcare costs and rise security premiums. Now, Susan Collins voted to springiness Trump a blank cheque for his warfare successful Iran.”
We’ll get to the Iran claim later. As we indicated, the claims astir healthcare costs are not the full story.
The advertisement suggests that Collins was opposed to extending the much generous security subsidies — which are really premium taxation credits — for those buying sum connected the ACA marketplaces. The enhanced subsidies were first passed by Democrats successful 2021 arsenic portion of pandemic alleviation legislation. But that wasn’t the case, according to Collins, who said she favored continuing them – astatine slightest for definite people, for a constricted play of time.
It’s existent that she voted against a continuing solution that Democrats projected to money the government, permanently widen the ACA enhanced subsidies and different things. In fact, she voted against that solution connected multiple occasions between Sept. 19 and Oct. 9.
Around that time, Collins explained her presumption by saying that she thought the ACA subsidies – which didn’t officially expire until year’s extremity – should beryllium handled isolated from a must-pass spending measure to support the authorities open.
For example, addressing the subsidies successful a connection to the Maine Morning Star for a Sept. 26 story, Collins said, “It is wide that we request to enactment connected this issue, but our absorption close present needs to beryllium connected avoiding a harmful authorities shutdown that would origin disruptions to captious programs that galore Americans trust connected each day.”
And successful a post connected Facebook connected Oct. 1, Collins encouraged her chap senators to enactment the “House-passed clean, short-term backing measure” from Republicans alternatively of the “alternative proposal” from Democrats that she said was “full of important partisan argumentation changes.”
She wrote: “We indispensable extremity the authorities shutdown, proceed our bipartisan negotiations connected the yearly appropriations bills, and enactment to find a way guardant connected the enhanced premium taxation credits.”
In an email to us, Shawn Roderick, a spokesperson for the Collins campaign, said that during this period, the legislator “was moving astir the timepiece to money authorities and enactment an extremity to the harmful authorities shutdown” portion Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “was focused connected forcing these performative messaging votes” that were “full of partisan poison pills.”
In summation to temporarily backing the authorities and permanently extending the enhanced ACA subsidies, the spending measure introduced by Democrats would person repealed healthcare provisions successful the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, restored definite backing being withheld by the Office of Management and Budget, and constricted OMB’s authorization to withhold different congressionally authorized funding. Democrats attempted to get those argumentation initiatives enacted by attaching them to a spending measure to money the government.
Collins, arsenic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, would spell connected to help write the funding bill that ended the 43-day shutdown successful November. But that measure did not extend the subsidies successful question.
Then, successful December, arsenic clip to enactment connected the subsidies was getting short, Collins joined with a Republican colleague, Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, to suggest authorities to temporarily widen the subsidies for 2 years, portion capping the household income threshold for eligibility astatine $200,000 and requiring a $25 minimum monthly premium.
“This measure would assistance forestall unaffordable increases successful wellness security premium costs for galore families by extending the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium taxation credits for 2 years and putting a tenable income headdress connected these subsidies to guarantee they are going to the individuals who request them,” she said successful a statement astir the proposal.
That aforesaid month, Collins besides voted to beforehand authorities introduced by Schumer that would widen the taxation credits for 3 years. But that measure — which Collins sought to amend to see income limits — failed to person the 60 votes indispensable to determination to last consideration.
In 2025, 86% of the much than 62,000 radical insured done Maine’s state-based marketplace received premium taxation credits, according to the wellness argumentation probe enactment KFF.
Lauren French, a spokesperson for Majority Forward, made the statement to america that Collins’ erstwhile votes substance much than her words.
“The Senate doesn’t connection a lane for Sen. Collins to alteration outcomes she claims to reason and past skip accountability for her votes expanding the outgo of wellness attraction and giving Donald Trump unchecked authorization to wage war,” French said successful an email.
Iran War
The Iran warfare assertion is based connected Collins’ erstwhile votes against warfare powers resolutions that would halt subject operations successful Iran until Congress officially declared warfare oregon authorized the usage of force. The advertisement cites 1 peculiar ballot successful March, but Collins voted against the warfare powers solution aggregate times.
In legislature grounds connected April 29, the Pentagon’s comptroller, Jay Hurst, told Congress that the warfare has outgo astir $25 cardinal truthful far. But different estimates enactment the outgo astatine person to $40 billion to $50 billion, according to quality reports citing unnamed U.S. officials.
In a statement released connected March 4, Collins said she didn’t ballot to halt the subject cognition that began days earlier due to the fact that it was important not to let Iran to person atomic weapons and to amusement enactment for U.S. troops.
“Passing this solution present would nonstop the incorrect connection to Iran and to our troops,” Collins said. “At this juncture, providing unequivocal enactment to our work members is critically important, arsenic is ongoing consultation by the Administration with Congress.”
But Collins aboriginal indicated successful mid-April that her presumption would “very likely” alteration if the struggle continued for much than 60 days, which, nether the War Powers Act of 1973, would past necessitate the support of Congress.
And arsenic the warfare approached the two-month mark, Collins, connected April 30, voted for a war powers resolution sponsored by Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff to halt subject actions against Iran unless approved by Congress. (The advertisement began airing earlier this vote, but it was inactive moving successful Maine arsenic of astatine slightest May 3, according to AdImpact.)
“As I person said since these hostilities began, the President’s authorization arsenic Commander-in-Chief is not without limits,” Collins said successful a connection enactment retired by her Senate office. “The Constitution gives Congress an indispensable relation successful decisions of warfare and peace, and the War Powers Act establishes a wide 60-day deadline for Congress to either authorize oregon extremity U.S. engagement successful overseas hostilities. That deadline is not a suggestion; it is simply a requirement.”
The connection continued: “Further subject enactment against Iran indispensable person a wide mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the struggle to a close. I voted to extremity the continuation of these subject hostilities astatine this clip until specified a lawsuit is made.”
Collins was 1 of conscionable 2 Republicans to vote for the resolution, but it failed 47-50.
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The station Democratic Ad Attacks Collins connected Healthcare, Iran War appeared archetypal connected FactCheck.org.
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