Yesterday, the Trump administration finalized its plan to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, a move that Senator Collins paved the way for with her vote for the 2017 GOP tax bill after years of lobbying from the fossil fuel industry.
When Senator Collins ran for reelection in 2002, she promised Mainers that she would protect the Arctic Refuge because she believed, “we need to preserve those treasures for future generations.” Then in 2008, she again stated her opposition to Arctic drilling claiming, “I just don’t think the first place we should go drill is in a wildlife refuge.” But in 2017 when tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy were on the line, Collins had no problem voting to turn the land that is sacred to members of the Gwich’in Nation into an industrial oil field.
Collins’ total 180 on Arctic drilling was a slap in the face to the Mainers who had trusted her to protect the environment. And after backing Collins in previous election cycles, both the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the National Resources Defense Council Action Fund flipped to endorse Sara Gideon following Collins’ vote to sell out the Arctic Refuge to the fossil fuel industry.
“Senator Collins promised to protect our natural treasures for future generations, but all it took was the opportunity to give her corporate donors a big tax cut for her to abandon her commitment and sell out our natural heritage to the highest bidder,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “After 24 years in Washington, she’s changed--Mainers can no longer count on her to fight for our environment and our future.”
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