On the Issues
Reforming Campaign Finance & Cleaning Up Corruption
Jared believes that we won’t be able to make progress on the serious issues facing the country unless we first work to get big money out of politics and clean up government corruption. He has made campaign finance reform and anti-corruption efforts a key part of his agenda in Congress. During his time in Congress, he has:
- Supported a constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision.
- Walked the talk by refusing to accept donations from corporate PACs.
- Led a bipartisan group of members to push for legislation banning members of Congress from trading stocks while in office.
- Cosponsored and voted for the most comprehensive election reform and anti-corruption legislation in decades, the For the People Act, which would limit partisan gerrymandering, bolster ethics rules, reduce the influence of private money in politics, and expand voting rights.
- Introduced legislation to ban former Members of Congress from ever working as federal lobbyists.
Expanding Healthcare Coverage
Few issues touch working Mainers as closely as access to affordable, high quality healthcare coverage. Jared has been a staunch defender of the Affordable Care Act and expanding access so that every American can have health coverage. In his time in Congress, he has:
- Prioritized lowering prescription drug prices. He helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which:
- Empowers Medicare to begin to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for seniors. This provision alone is slated to save the Medicare program over $100 billion over ten years.
- Caps Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 per year, with the ability for seniors to spread the cost over 12 monthly payments. This provision will help limit prescription drug prices for the more than 262,000 seniors in Maine enrolled in Medicare Part D.
- Imposes a $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries, which will protect more than 15,000 people in Maine from insulin prices that have more than doubled in the last decade.
- Imposes penalties on drug manufacturers that increase drug prices under Medicare faster than overall inflation.
- In his first term, he introduced original legislation, the FLAT Prices Act, which would punish Big Pharma companies when they hurt consumers with skyrocketing drug prices.
- Supported numerous bills to expand Medicare coverage, including dental, hearing, and vision care.
- Backed a bill to allow states like Maine to take advantage of full federal funding to support Medicaid expansion.
Supporting Maine Seniors
Jared knows that Social Security and Medicare are promises that must be kept. That’s why he strongly supports protecting and strengthening these programs. Jared has:
- Promised to protect Social Security and increase benefits so that no senior retires in poverty.
- Signed onto legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Program and Government Pension Offset, poorly-designed calculations that unfairly reduce Maine retirees’ Social Security benefits.
- Fought to lower prescription drug costs for seniors by voting fora cap on out-of-pocket Medicare part D costs and introducing legislation that would punish drug companies for excessive price hikes.
- Signed onto legislation that has become law to extend the Health Coverage Tax Credit, which will help retirees in places like Madawaska.
Standing Up for Workers and Good Jobs
Jared is a labor Democrat who believes that our economy does well when workers at all levels are treated with dignity through fair compensation and benefits. He knows that stronger unions lead to a stronger middle class in America. While in Congress, he has:
- Worked with members of both parties to successfully pass the largest infrastructure package in US history. This law will make significant improvements in access to broadband, replacing lead pipes, and fixing our crumbling roads and bridges.
- Led a coalition of House members to push for the passage of the PRO Act, one of the most significant pro-labor bills in a generation.
- Gone to bat for Maine’s heritage industries, including introducing legislation to help grow the logging workforce, protect lobstermen from misguided, unfair regulations, and plan for the future of Maine’s shipbuilding workforce.
- Used his position on the House Small Business Committee to highlight the need to invest in rural infrastructure, including broadband, to help Maine businesses and communities succeed.
- Advocated for the future of Maine’s shipbuilding workforce, using his position on the Armed Services Committee to restore shipbuilding opportunities for Maine workers and pushing the U.S. Navy to study the challenges facing the growth of a strong workforce to support our defense industries.
- Successfully secured over $7 million in Community Project Funding for Maine, with a particular focus on logging apprenticeships, shipbuilder training, first responders, and economic development.
Serving Our Veterans and Protecting Our National Security
Having served in Afghanistan and Iraq, Jared knows first-hand some of the challenges members of the military face when they return home. From improving transition services for newly-returned vets to improving VA healthcare for older veterans, Jared has been deeply invested in improving the lives of Maine veterans. As a member of Congress, he has:
- Successfully led an effort to push the VA to establish a permanent unit at Togus to provide long-term beds for mental health and substance abuse treatment.
- Passed an amendment through the House to increase funding for long-term mental health care beds as a part of the annual VA funding bill.
Put a strong emphasis on constituent services to help veterans in need. - Helped fight to successfully repeal the unfair “Widow’s Tax” that offset pension benefits to military widows.
- Voted for a successful effort to expand VA protections to Blue Water Navy Veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
- Helped block the establishment of the VA’s misguided “AIR Commission,” which was tasked with closing veterans care facilities in rural areas of Maine.
- Serves on the House Armed Services Committee where Jared is looking out for American interests at home and abroad.
Protecting Our Environment
Jared knows that Maine’s natural resources are critical to our way of life and economy. He opposes efforts to weaken important environmental protections and has been a strong advocate of maintaining and restoring our national parks system. While in office, he has:
- Backed legislation to keep the United States in the Paris Climate Agreement.
- Supported the Land and Water Conservation Fund, our nation’s most successful program for protecting public lands and parks.
- Championed successful passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, which is bringing $16 million to Maine to improve and maintain working forests and public lands near Perham Stream, around Bethel, and in Acadia National Park.