On the issues
Working Hard to Make Government Work for You
The Maine Way used to be simple—work hard, be kind, and be persistent. And it used to pay off. But today, Mainers are finding it harder and harder to get ahead. Grocery prices keep going up, home ownership is a dream of the past, and our seniors are having to choose between paying for their medications or refilling their oil tank.
Mainers are doing what they’ve always done, but corporate greed, Washington dysfunction, and stagnant wages have made it impossible to get ahead. It doesn’t have to be like this, and Joe is ready to fight to change it. Growing up, Joe’s parents always told him and his siblings “everyone pitches in, and you look out for each other.” Now, Joe is ready to look out for you in Congress.
Protecting Social Security and Medicare
Social Security isn’t a privilege, it’s your right. Nearly 26% of people in Maine’s Second Congressional District are 65 or older and heavily rely on Social Security and Medicare to make ends meet. We need to protect your benefits while ensuring that generations to come are able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This can all be done without taxes on your benefits, increasing the retirement age, or cutting programs that help seniors afford their much-needed prescriptions.
While in the legislature, Joe opposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs that would have drastically affected Medicare premiums and nursing home funding. They were able to reverse those cuts, providing much-needed funding to nursing homes, hospitals, and essential services for seniors living at or below 250% of the poverty level.
Defending Reproductive Rights
The government should never come between you and your medical decisions. Joe has been pro-choice his entire life. His strong belief in the Constitution, in every individual’s right to privacy, is his guiding force. We must protect abortion access while increasing funding for essential reproductive health care services including IVF, birth control access, cancer screenings, and STI testing.
Since 2022 when Roe vs. Wade was overturned, Joe Baldacci has earned a perfect score from Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund. As the state faced severe cuts at the federal level for reproductive health care, Joe helped to secure $6 million in funding for Maine’s family planning services network. Additionally, when HIV/AIDS transmission rates increased in his district, Joe fought for additional funding for AIDS education in our schools.
In Congress, Joe will fight to codify Roe, increase funding for sexual health education, and ensure that people are getting the reproductive health care they need, regardless of ability to pay, because our communities are safer when they are healthier.
Funding Our Public Schools and Defending our Teachers
Investing in our schools, teachers, and children is an investment in our future. We have to properly pay teachers and support staff, decrease teacher-student ratios, and address the unfair funding disparities caused by the problematic property tax funding formula that leaves children in the most vulnerable areas behind.
A huge problem that our schools face is attracting and retaining quality workers. In Congress, Joe will fight to raise the minimum starting salaries for teachers and support staff so our students receive the best education with fewer disruptions and turnover. Additionally, Joe will fight for our most vulnerable students by increasing funding for special education and for schools in low-income communities. Currently in Maine, schools in lower-income districts have about $1,751 less per student than their counterparts in higher-income districts. We have to ensure that all children, regardless of family income level or zip code, receive the best education possible.
Protecting Maine's Oceans and Public Lands
Maine’s oceans and forests aren’t just beautiful landscapes, they’re our way of life. Mainers from the Coast to the County depend on our fisheries and our agricultural output for their livelihoods. We have a duty to protect our environment to ensure that future generations of loggers, farmers, and fishermen are able to thrive.
This is the 2nd most rural Congressional district in the entire country, and Joe will ensure that we are investing in affordable green alternatives to fossil fuels that will lower costs while also protecting the lands and oceans that Mainers for generations have enjoyed.
Making Housing More Affordable
More and more Mainers are thinking of homeownership as a thing of the past. We need to restrict predatory companies from coming into our state, buying up all of the housing inventory, and then renting units at prices that working Mainers cannot afford.
Additionally, Joe has sponsored legislation in the State House to increase property tax exemptions incrementally while adjusting for inflation yearly. He has also been a champion for mobile home park owners, sponsoring legislation for property owners to give advance notice to mobile homeowners if they are planning to sell their lots. This would give the homeowners the ability to come together and buy the space where they live if it is being sold. Joe would continue that fight in Congress, helping to keep people in their homes longer and turning Maine into a state of homeowners once again.
Supporting Working Families
We need to relieve the burden that many working parents feel by investing in quality, affordable childcare options and providing guaranteed family leave. Additionally, we need to pay our childcare providers wages that reflect the essential work they’re doing.
By expanding the Child Tax Credit and providing a monthly stipend to families with children, it would cut child poverty in half in the state of Maine. Also, in the legislature, Joe sponsored a bill for childcare providers to be reimbursed based on enrollment rates and not attendance rates, so the cost burden is not shifted to providers and families. We also have to invest in universal pre-K programs, ensuring that families who don’t have the ability to pay for private programs are not left behind.
Addressing the Health Care Crisis
There’s no way around it—our health care system is broken. We need to decrease insurance costs, decrease prescription drug costs, keep rural hospitals open and funded, and ensure that all medical bills are transparent and fair. No one should be choosing between buying food and buying medications, or paying for a trip to the doctor and paying their mortgage. We need universal health care.
Joe currently serves on the Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services Committee where he has extensive experience advancing legislation to make health care more affordable and accessible. Additionally, we have to continue to address the nursing and care workers shortage that we’re experiencing. Maine has the oldest population in the country and our people deserve to age with dignity—whether that is in their own home with help or in a facility. We have to compensate the workers who provide this essential care fairly, increase incentives for people to provide this care, and decrease workplace conditions that lead to burnout and turnover.
Standing for Civil Rights and Equality for All
Joe will fight for all Mainers regardless of gender, skin color, sexuality, ability, or income level. We have to stop the division and protect our vulnerable populations.
At the federal level, we need to pass the Equality Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and efforts to safeguard your private data so it cannot be used against you.
Making Corporations and Millionaires Pay Their Fair Share
It’s long overdue that corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. We are facing funding deficits for education, health care, veterans’ programs, environmental protections, childcare and more. Additionally, it is not fair that middle-class Americans are often paying higher taxes than people making millions of dollars yearly. We need to impose a modest tax on income over a million dollars annually and corporations who have thrived at the expense of workers.
