A message from the Hancock Country Democrats (1/15):

Background: One of the classic, peaceful ways to protest is to participate in a walkout. Even

school kids do it! (1) There is a nationwide walkout scheduled for January 20, 2 pm local time. The purpose is to demonstrate that we, the people, will not cooperate with fascism.

Action: As of this moment (Thursday morning Jan. 15), there are two Maine walkouts scheduled for Tuesday, one in Augusta and the other in Northeast Harbor. There are bound to be more especially if we see heightened ICE activity. Below is a blurb from the organizing partners (2). As the links suggest, you can check back closer to the 20^th to find the walkout nearest to you. Or volunteer to host one yourself!

FIND YOUR LOCAL WALK OUT! https://bit.ly/findawalkout

★ We walk towards a Free America.

★ We fight for a future that belongs to us all.

★ Everybody in, nobody out.

★ Welcome to the Free America Walkout ★

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

2pm local time, or your preferred time

Nationwide in the United States

After walking out, you can gather to protest, march, or do another creative action like a sit-in, banner deployment, or town hall!

ORGANIZERS—

HOST a walk out: https://bit.ly/1202026

Host Toolkit: https://bit.ly/jan20toolkit

Graphics: https://bit.ly/jan20graphics

EVERYONE—

Pledge to walk: https://bit.ly/jan20wewalk

Find a local protest: https://bit.ly/findawalkout (check back if you don’t see one near you yet, or consider hosting one yourself!)

Learn more: https://www.freeameri.ca

Extra Credit:

(1) https://www.pressherald.com/2025/12/03/portland-high-school-students-protest-ice-in-walkout-to-city-hall/

(2) https://www.freeameri.ca/partners I do not see any Maine-specific organizations on it, yet.

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: See Action 196

Action: More things you can do, thanks to Emanuel Pariser and others!

1. Take Maine’s ICE Watch Hotline Training: Get trained to field, verify, and document potential community ICE sightings and provide trusted, reliable information on ICE activity to immigrant communities.

2.  Check out the following Instagram site: https://www.instagram.com/no.ice.for.me/

Learn more about this effort to reign in ICE.

3. Check out https://maineimmigrantrights.org/mirc-resource-hub/ There’s a hotline where you can report a sighting 207 544 9989

4. Call Senator King and ask him to filibuster the appropriations bill for ICE funding, working its way through the Senate. See: https://zeteo.com/p/will-democrats-vote-to-give-trump

5. When you call or write Janet Mills to demand that she protects her citizens, ask her to:

Direct the State Police to have a strong presence where ICE has deployed for the purpose of assuring legal behavior of ICE agents toward citizens and residents;

Deploy the Maine National Guard to restore civil order, if the State and local police prove inadequate for the task; and

Assert State protective custody of ICE detainees held in municipal and county jails until their legal status can be determined and adjudicated if necessary.

5. Contact your state rep and senator and demand that they introduce and/or support Maine legislation to require ICE and Border Patrol to have Masks Off and name badges on. More information here: https://joycevance.substack.com/p/should-ice-agents-be-able-to-wear/

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

Find your State Senator:
By name: Here
By district: Here

~~~~~~~

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Our government in Augusta:

Governor Janet Mills
Email Governor Mills
Call (207) 287-3531

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows
Contact Secretary Bellows
Call (207)626-8400

Attorney General Aaron M. Frey
Contact Mr. Frey
Call (207) 626-8800

Questions or comments? Contact George!

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: Several sources have suggested today that ICE plans to visit Maine very soon, like in the next week or so, sending in several hundred agents the way they did in Minnesota. Immigrant communities such as in Lewiston need to be taking precautions in case the raids come.

Check out this source: https://www.aclumaine.org/preparingforice/

And read Shay Stewart-Bouley’s post https://shaystewartbouley.substack.com/p/coldest-ice-nah-it-will-probably where she says: “I say this as someone in Portland, Maine, area, where ICE is expected to arrive in force very soon (I guess they wanted their matched pair of coastal Portlands to terrorize after messing around in Oregon). Supposedly, they will be here “only” a week, but I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Action: Do what you can to help, and stay safe. Do not under any circumstances give the Trump administration any excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act. Janet Mills might consider stopping her campaign long enough to implement some protective actions – call her. She’s a friend of Governor Pritzker, maybe he can give her some pointers. Videos of whatever goes down will be very important.

See this reference. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/yes-you-have-right-film-ice

And tell our delegation to get the heck home and protect their constituents! Especially Jared Golden, or his legacy will be one of complicity with an attempted fascist takeover.

~~~~~~~
Contact:

Phone for Governor Mills’ office:
main phone number
(207) 287-3531

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Extra Credit.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/11/states-move-to-rein-in-ice-after-fatal-minnesota-shooting-00721208

https://newsletter.tnr.com/index.php?action=social&chash=a91af177d3016ca20e5fc949836a894a.2574&s=5722871251abd03288fb1995cfa03a31

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background. If you read the news with an eye to figuring out who the Republicans have said they are enraged by, dismissive of, and targeting for injury of some sort, you will find the following: Immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, Democrats (especially public officials and people living in “blue states”), Muslims, freethinkers, Jews opposed to genocide, Blacks, Native Americans, people in “shithole countries”, people opposed to fascism (“Antifa”), the poor, the disabled, people receiving government assistance in any form (e.g. SSI, SNAP & Medicaid), the sick, the elderly, young children, public school teachers, unions, protesters, scientists, scholars, lawyers and civil rights advocates, reasonable judges, Hollywood luminaries, injured veterans, Europeans, victims of ICE brutality… and the list goes on and on. Who on earth DON’T they hate? Putin?
 
The Republican Party has become a big tent alright – all haters welcome!

 These are sick people. (1)

Actions.

1. Protest at every opportunity. Protests build community among all the aforementioned groups. They need your support, especially if you are in the demographic the Republican haters like: “white”, cis-gendered, healthy, educated, and articulate. It’s up to you/us to protect the unjustly hated.

2. Encourage any registered Republican you may still be friends with, to work tirelessly from the inside to change their party back to its Lincoln-era roots. This is risky for them and requires courage on their part. Either they need to be working toward that end, or they need to unenroll from the party (the way the national opera is leaving the former Kennedy Center!) (2)

3. Write a letter to the editor on this theme. Hold the mirror up to the face of the Republican party. They need to see clearly what it has become. They need to know that all people of good will see it, too.

4. Do not vote for any Republican candidate in any local, state or national election. Work to see that even in your town, there is someone running from the ranks of the Dems (preferably) but also unenrolled or third-party candidates. Anyone but a Republican, given what they have become.

5. Get your likeminded but unenrolled and Green Party friends to enroll as Democrats. It’s the best way for them to influence the selection of candidates in the primary ranked choice election (in June), who will go on to the midterm voting (in November). As Jay Kuo said: “If we do our work, November 2026 will mark a turning point for our country. All eyes on that prize, all gas no brakes.”(3).

Contacts.

See here for how to write a letter to the editor, with links to local papers.     https://hancockdems.org/volunteer/ltes/

Here are a few of several local organizations you might want to work with – let us know of others. We need to be building a strong coalition to resist the fascist takeover effectively.

https://indivisiblepeninsula.org (Blue Hill peninsula)

https://acadiaaction.org (mostly communities east of Ellsworth) 

https://indivisiblebangor.org (online meetings, actions close to Bangor)

 https://www.facebook.com/p/Indivisible-Waldo-County-Me-61577889617091/ (Belfast etc.)

Urgency. Maine has semi-open primaries.Republicans disgusted with their party can unenroll and vote in a different party’s primary if they unenroll by May 26. Unenrolled voters get to choose one party’s ballot in the June primary. Their unenrolled status does not change. See your town registrar for forms and details. It’s up to us to make the Democratic party an organization that good people wish to stay in.

Extra Credit
(1) https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/why-are-federal-agents-gunning-down (the last half of the article)

(2) https://www.npr.org/2026/01/10/nx-s1-5671107/kennedy-center-canceled-trump-washington-national-opera-wno

(3) https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/bridges-too-far

~~~~~~~
Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

This chart tells you what you need to know about the real reasons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: Hancock County legislators lead once again! Senator Nicole Grohoski has a new bill in the legislature that will have one of this year’s first hearings, on January 6. LD 1730 (1) carried over from last year was one of those concept drafts that don’t give you any information. But Nicole submitted the details on Dec. 30 (2) and more information on the concept is available in a Google doc (3) from Representative Gary Friedmann. The bill now has a name: “An Act to Make Small, Portable, Plug-in Solar Generation Devices Accessible for All Maine Residents to Address the Energy Affordability Crisis”. The initial sections of the legislation deal with building code modifications to increase energy efficiency. Then we come to Section 3475. Plug-in photovoltaic and battery systems. These new-ish devices (already widely available up to 800 Watts: you can see them on Amazon for instance) will allow homeowners to harvest the sun’s energy directly, to reduce their electricity bills from the power companies. This bill creates a new category for small plug-in solar electricity generation devices less than or equal to 1,200 watts, and establishes safety requirements. They would not be able to export power to the grid, so net energy billing would not apply. The owners would have to notify, but not get permission from, the utility. The devices would be treated as personal property by homeowner insurance, and if installed by, say, a renter on someone else’s property, they would have to be removed at the end of their use and the structure restored. The hearing will be Tuesday, January 6, 1:00pm. Written (rather than oral) testimony is requested.

Action: Testimony can be sent to the Energy, Utility and Technology Committee. Here is the online portal: https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/ or just email the committee at EUT@legislature.maine.gov

Extra Credit:

(1) https://legislature.maine.gov/billtracker/#Paper/1730?legislature=132

(2) https://legislature.maine.gov/backend/App/Services/getDocument.aspx?documentId=121199

(3) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a8qtkRTXNdr_nRjN4fzyiAGJqwCLY3F9ZpE6W46FOmA/edit?tab=t.0

(4) https://mainemorningstar.com/2025/09/25/plug-in-solar-bills-are-in-the-works-in-new-hampshire-and-vermont/

Now about the small scale nukes… There is a push among some nuclear power enthusiasts to start building “small” nuclear power plants in Maine. These would be of a size appropriate for AI data centers – up to around 300 MW or about 1/3 the capacity of Maine Yankee. This push came to the Maine Legislature last year in the form of three pro-nuke bills. Two of the bills failed in committee, and the third, LD 343, was substantially revised by its sponsor Republican Reagan Paul to an innocuous-sounding title: “An Act to Ensure Periodic Assessment for Clean Energy Technology.” This bill has been carried over – see its history here – https://legislature.maine.gov/billtracker/#Paper/HP0243?legislature=132 – but nothing is scheduled for it so far this year. Until the nuclear power promoters have solved the conundrum of what to do with nuclear waste (5), and until the federal government no longer indemnifies the power plant owners/operators for any accidents (6), nuclear power is “too hot to handle” and doesn’t belong in Maine.

(5) I was present at a conference in the early 1970s, where I remember Dr. Alvin Weinberg saying nuclear power was “a solution in search of a problem” and it found it, in the problem of waste disposal. Not much has changed. Here’s what Google AI overview has to say today: “No, the nuclear waste problem has not been fully solved, as there is no universally implemented permanent disposal solution, although significant progress has been made in safe temporary storage and waste management techniques. Currently, countries primarily rely on temporary storage, and while some, like Finland, have developed deep geological repositories, their full operation and long-term success are still being evaluated.”  Note that some of the testimony on Maine’s nuke bills touted France’s ability to manage the nuclear fuel cycle. Actually, France is currently engaged in remediation of its prior practice of dumping nuke waste in the ocean, and is still searching for a satisfactory solution.

(6) The federal government still indemnifies nuclear power plants through the Price-Anderson Act of 1957 which limits liability and provides a government backstop for claims exceeding the industry’s private insurance and self-funded capacity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) indemnifies commercial nuclear power plants, while the Department of Energy (DOE) provides indemnification for its contractors. This system has been renewed multiple times, most recently in 2024, to ensure that damages from a nuclear incident would be covered. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10821

Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: There is nothing in the Maine political world more important than this year’s votes, in June and November. All the efforts we have been making to rescue the sinking ship of state will be either accomplished, or severely hampered if not nullified, by the result of those votes.

Everyone’s time and energy are limited, so it’s important to focus. We can drive ourselves batty responding to every outrage that comes to us in our daily news feeds, or we can acknowledge the outrages while focusing on this year’s primary goal: to nominate and then elect patriotic Americans who will change course, back to the principles and aspirations on which the nation was founded. We have a representative form of government. OUR job is to make sure our representatives are the best ones.

It’s not sufficient just to donate money, although that is important. You have to volunteer as an active participant in their campaign. You have to door-to-door canvass for them, write letters to the editor supporting them, wear their buttons and other merch, put up their road signs, make additional homemade road signs, put a bumper sticker on your car, host a house party, speak out in favor of them whenever you have a chance, and help them understand the issues that are important to you (i.e. help them develop their policies). If you are doing all this, you are doing the work necessary. If you have not yet started, please get busy!

The Democratic Party is not supposed to endorse specific candidates until after the primary. Unfortunately, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, the party has a habit of putting its thumb on the scale in favor of incumbents and other cronies. If you want to change this dynamic, research and support the other candidates. However, after the primary, be prepared to be fully on board with the nominees, because whoever they are, they are a better choice than any person who is still a member of the Republican party. Its leadership holds views antithetical to our principles, and the party rank-and-file is either ignorant, spineless, or complicit.  In good conscience you cannot vote for, or promote, anyone who is still a Republican, to any office whatsoever.

Action: Pick your candidates and make it a top priority to get them elected! Or run yourself.

Urgency: Do your homework NOW and volunteer for someone by the end of January.

Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Extra Credit:

Understand Ranked Choice voting. It will be used in the June primaries for US Senate, US Congress, Governor, State Senate and State Representative, and also in the November election for US Senate and US Congress if there are three or more qualified candidates. On election night, municipal officials count only the first-choice selections for each ranked-choice voting contest. If no candidate received more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the memory devices containing the results (for tabulator municipalities) and the paper ballots (for hand-count municipalities) are delivered to the Secretary of State in Augusta for a central ranked-choice voting tabulation. Results from all memory devices and scanned paper ballots are uploaded into one database. The cast vote records are extracted and then processed through the ranked-choice voting software to produce final results.

Running for office. Collecting valid signatures is an excellent way to start promoting your favored candidate – which could even be you!. To be on the ballot in June, a signed petition must be received by the Secretary of State no later than March 16. The required minimum numbers of valid signatures for PARTY candidates are: 2000 for Governor or US Senator, 1000 for US Representative, 150 for county officers, 50 for County Commissioner, and 25 for state legislators. The signers must be registered to vote in the party for which the candidate is seeking nomination. The numbers of signatures required for NON-PARTY candidates are double these figures. The rules are spelled out in the State of Maine 2026 Candidate’s Guide to Ballot Access.

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: President Trump is pulling out all the stops to distract us from his disastrous administrative blunders, revenge efforts, failing health, and downright grift. One of the most recent is a “wag the dog” (1) threat to Venezuela, accompanied by extra-judicial killings of people in small boats, without presenting proof that they were doing anything threatening to the U.S. This sort of provocative posturing can lead to years of armed conflict and death. It’s an old distraction gambit, but when being posed by an increasingly erratic person with the nuclear codes at his command, it’s truly alarming.

Another reason for persecuting Venezuela besides Trump’s distraction effort, is his claim that Venezuela stole something from the United States. The claim refers to Venezuela’s nationalization of its oil industry, which involved the taking of assets from foreign companies, including U.S.-based oil companies, not the US government. THAT HAPPENED IN 2007, almost 20 years ago. (2) Those oil companies are still among the richest corporations on the planet. Apparently, their greed never ends. Didn’t we see enough blood for oil in Iraq? Do we really have to repeat the mistake?

Several legislative bills and resolutions were recently introduced in the U.S. Congress to prevent unauthorized war or military action with Venezuela, but they have so far failed to pass. (3) They included

Senate Joint Resolution 90, introduced in October. Failed Nov. 6

“No Unauthorized Force in Venezuela Act”, (actually two separate continuing resolutions) introduced November 21, rejected December 17

THERE IS NO current legislation in the works to prevent the President from continuing military actions in the region without congressional approval. 

Action: Ask our delegation to take the lead in introducing legislation blocking war with Venezuela. Stop the efforts at regime change! We have no more business telling Venezuela to topple its government, than Russia had, perhaps still has, fomenting discord here.

Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Urgency: The situation is ongoing. Apply pressure now.

Extra Credit:

(1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_Dog#:~:text=Wag%20the%20Dog%20is%20a,and%20directed%20by%20Barry%20Levinson%2C

(2)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_U.S._involvement_in_Venezuela%27s_petroleum_industry
(3) https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2025-12-17/house-rejects-limits-military-action-venezuela-20127592

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/12/18/house-rejects-resolutions-limit-trumps-campaign-against-venezuela-and-drug-cartels.html

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background: Remember our motto, Dirigo – I lead? And “As Maine goes so goes the nation”? Why have we ceded that leadership to Michigan? (1) Recent cases in point:

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich, on December 9 introduced HR 935, articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (2, 3)

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who is running for an open Senate seat in Michigan, formally introduced an article of impeachment on December 10 against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (4)

While pundits give these bills virtually zero chance of passing, they contain documentation of the high crimes and misdemeanors of these two Cabinet-level ruffians. This will be useful when they have to answer for their misdeeds after we flip both houses of Congress and de-fang this dangerous administration. Also, it’s high time Susan Collins started to make amends for her disastrous mistake in confirming Kennedy. In June 2025, she said she had “no regrets” (5). Cowardly and shameful, she needs to be replaced!

Action: Contact our delegation and ask them to support these impeachment resolutions, even if they deem it futile. It sends a message!

Contact:

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Urgency: Add this to your daily calls. Doing this soon proves you are on top of developments, and you want our delegation to LEAD, again!

Extra Credit:

(1) Like Maine, Michigan has unified Democratic leadership. Our trifecta happened in 2019, theirs in 2023. It looks like Michigan swiftly enacted significant progressive legislation, in most areas where Maine had already done so. The areas where Michigan currently seems to be ahead of Maine are:

Passed Universal Background Checks on all firearm purchases. (We do not have this – yet – for private sales.)

Expanded tuition-free pre-K and community college (PreK is available in some places in Maine but not all: Community College funding is not guaranteed after 2025)

For a listing of all the areas where Michigan has recently adopted progressive measures, consult Google AI, searching for “Is Michigan a progressive state?” then further search each of the listed progressive actions for Maine’s record.

(2) https://thanedar.house.gov/resolution

(3) https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/pete-hegseth-impeachment-shri-thanedar/

(4) https://stevens.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/stevens.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/articles-of-impeachment-against-hhs-secretary-robert-f-kennedy-jr.pdf

(5) https://www.mainedems.org/media/icymi-no-regrets-collins-doubles-down-votes-led-maine-job-losses-and-abortion-restrictions

A message from the Hancock Country Democrats:

Background:  There’s no mystery about it.  Many CEO’s make more money than they are worth. Over decades these unpatriotic greedheads have figured out how to rig the system. See Robert Reich’s post (1) for the data and the rationale. To combat this greed and restore some sanity to executive compensation, Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib have proposed S 2818 and HR 5298, the “Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act.” (2, 3) The Senate bill currently has 4 senate co-sponsors, neither of which is named King or Collins. The House bill is cosponsored by Rep. Chellie Pingree along with 19 others.

Bills by that title have been proposed for years, at least since 2019, by Sanders in the Senate and Barbara Lee in House.Under the current version, companies would pay higher taxes when the ratio of the pay of their CEO to their typical worker exceeds 50-to-1, which is much higher than the ratios from the 1960-70’s (typically 20- or 30-1). Right now, some CEO’s (e.g. Walmart) are making almost 1000 times the pay of their workers. In some cases (e.g. Starbuck’s) the ratio is close to 3000-1. This is beyond obscene. The bill proposes a sliding scale of increased corporate tax rate depending on how obscene the ratio is.

Note this proposal does not tax the CEO’s directly. It taxes their corporations, whose boards of directors are enabling these obscene levels of inequality. Under the current proposal, if a company is paying its workers a really good wage, it can also pay its CEO handsomely without incurring the penalizing tax.

Action:  Call or write our delegation and ask them to support the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. It just might have a chance of passing in this congress, or the next one after we have repudiated the agenda of the greedheads and booted them out of office. Thank Pingree for signing on as a cosponsor.

Contact: 

AIA Maine: https://aiamaine.org/contact

Senator Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Senator Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Congressman Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Urgency:  The bill was introduced in September. Try to weigh in by the end of this month.

Extra Credit:

(1) https://robertreich.substack.com/p/want-to-know-the-real-problem-with

(2) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2818

(3) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5298/text