Stakes high for Collins in coronavirus relief standoff
By Alexander Bolton - 05/25/20 11:31 AM EDT
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces the toughest reelection campaign of her Senate career, is battling her own party over coronavirus relief funding for local and state governments hit hard by the pandemic.
The Maine senator, in a state where President Trump is expected to lose the presidential vote, has co-sponsored a bill that would set up a $500 billion state and municipal recovery fund.
Collins scored a win during the negotiation of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act by co-authoring one of the bill’s most popular components, the small-business lending initiative known as the Paycheck Protection Program, to which Congress added another $320 billion last month.
But delivering another round of aid for beleaguered state and local governments, something which Maine desperately needs, is a tough challenge because of opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and many other Senate Republicans.
“The pressure in Maine for those resources is huge,†said Mark Brewer, a professor of political science at the University of Maine.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/499314-stakes-high-for-collins-in-coronavirus-relief-standoff
