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UPDATES:
[Oct. 10, 2025] State Rep. Marc Malon
Vaccines are vital, and Maine is leading the way
Do you know anyone currently suffering from polio?
My guess is you probably don’t. But polio has existed throughout recorded human history, and the worst outbreak in the United States killed more than 3,000 people in 1952. It left countless others with lifelong health consequences.
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[August 4, 2025] State Rep. Marc Malon
Trump’s ‘big ugly bill’ hurts Maine. Here’s what we can do
We had a productive legislative session in Augusta this year. We passed a balanced budget that supports health care, invest in our schools and enhances our ability to respond to extreme weather events while improving infrastructure and ecosystem resilience.
Unfortunately, our actions don’t exist in a vacuum. President Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress passed a big, ugly budget that cuts taxes for the rich while harming working folks, seniors and children. They then passed what is called a “rescission” bill to partially codify some of the unlawful DOGE cuts to programs that were implemented when Trump let the richest man in the world ransack the government.
It is important to understand these measures and their negative impact, and then to look at ways Maine can act to mitigate the damage.
To start, the big, ugly bill represents a massive redistribution of wealth to the rich. Households making more than $700,000 per year will see a $12,000 annual boost from paying less in taxes, while middle-class households will stay stagnant in the face of rising costs. Folks who make less than $55,000 per year will see a net loss in household resources due to the combination of cuts to vital services and will experience no meaningful tax relief.
Put simply: Mainers do not benefit from this at all.
Additionally, the bill takes a sledgehammer to Medicaid, also known as MaineCare. It’s important to be clear about who uses Medicaid in Maine. The health insurance program currently covers 400,000 Mainers, including seniors, children and folks with disabilities.
The bill will add burdensome documentation requirements for approximately 90,000 Maine adults who are currently eligible for Medicaid as well.
The bill also makes cuts to SNAP, the federal government’s nutrition assistance program, which helps 176,000 residents afford their groceries each month and also generates $1.54 in economic activity for each dollar spent. In other words, a net positive. The bill reduces benefits, making it harder for folks to put food on the table to feed their families while hurting local businesses.
The bill hurts in many other ways, including changes to health care marketplaces, which are likely to cause our health insurance premiums to rise, like anyone needs that. The health care cuts put a huge strain on hospitals and nursing homes, especially in rural areas where they are already struggling. Ultimately, it will result in our kids and grandkids footing the bill for generations as all of these measures are in service of tax cuts for the rich, which will explode the deficit.
The bill hurts in many other ways,
— Rep. Marc Malon
including changes to health care
marketplaces, which are likely
to cause our health insurance premiums
to rise, like anyone needs that
So what can we do in Maine?
First, let’s acknowledge reality. These arbitrary and capricious cuts impact Maine’s budget and our state’s ability to provide services. As lawmakers, we are going to have to look at ways to alleviate the damage as best as we can, understanding that some of these holes created by foolish politicians can never be fully filled.
We need to increase state revenues. I voted in favor of multiple measures to do that this session. One of these measures, from my colleague Ann Matlack (D-St. George) would add higher-income tax brackets and make our state tax code more progressive, demanding that wealthier residents pay their fair share. I am open to supporting other measures as well, but our goal should always be to make sure that we are protecting folks who can least afford to be hit by higher costs.
In the meantime, we should be looking for opportunities to develop our economy and attract more jobs and workers to the state. This broadens the tax base. Any time a worker can earn more money and access a greater ability to provide a stable life for themselves and their families, the communities around them are strengthened.
I desperately wish the president and his enablers weren’t committing reckless actions to degrade our communities and pit people against their neighbors. I wish they were not spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on tax cuts for the rich, or billions of taxpayer dollars on harassing law-abiding immigrants without due process, at the expense of veterans, seniors and working-class folks. But they are.
Fortunately, my colleagues in Augusta and I do care about our communities. And we will do everything in our power to ensure that the people of Maine are protected from the impacts of this big, ugly bill.
Marc Malon represents House District 133, part of Biddeford, in the Maine House of Representatives. He can be reached at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov.
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The views and opinions expressed those of the author only. The Biddeford Gazette encourages readers to contact us if they would like to share a different opinion. Contact us for more information.
THE BIDDEFORD GAZETTE 