Jobs & Economy

Getting Mainers back to work and creating new jobs is one of my highest priorities as a United States Senator. The key to American economic success has always been - and continues to be - our never ending innovative spirit. For generations small businesses and local industries have served as the lifeblood of Maine’s economy, and I am committed to making sure we’re ready to confront the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century through smart investments in infrastructure and sensible regulations for small businesses.

My priorities include:

• Expanding rural broadband. In today’s world, high-speed Internet is as necessary for success as roads and bridges were one-hundred years ago. With high-speed Internet, a person living in Milo can sell their products to a buyer in Europe. On the other hand, the absence of high-speed Internet in rural areas can be an economic disaster. Now is the time to bring true high-speed connectivity to the doorstep of households and businesses throughout Maine and across the country. I am working to incentivize the building of this infrastructure – both through the Universal Service Fund and other means.

• Supporting Maine’s fisheries. Fishing, farming, and forestry are at the very core of what make our state unique. Yet our fishermen need sound and predictable federal government policies, just like any other small businesspeople. Amid reduced catch quotas and a changing ocean environment, Maine fishermen are facing particularly tough times. That is why I pushed for disaster relief funding and why I continue to advocate that the government work hand-in-hand with our fishermen to eliminate unnecessary burdens such as increased monitoring costs. In the long term, I am also working to find ways to help our fishermen deal with climate change and ocean acidification. 

• Leveling the playing field. Local and state sales tax revenue provides funding for essential infrastructure and services. While brick-and-mortar stores must collect sales taxes from customers who make purchases in their stores, online sellers are not required to collect taxes in the same way, putting local businesses at a competitive disadvantage to online sellers. This inequity has led me to join a bipartisan group of senators in co-sponsoring the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which gives states the option to require online sellers to collect and remit sales tax in the same way local retailers are required to do.

• Promoting economic development by expanding HUBZones. Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones), which include former military bases like the Brunswick Naval Air Station, are given preferential treatment in federal procurement opportunities. However, the geographic boundaries that currently determine a HUBZone are often too narrow to allow rural communities the opportunity to leverage the potential economic benefits of the HUBZone classification. This is why I joined Senator Susan Collins in sponsoring the HUBZone Expansion Act of 2013, which would broaden the boundary definitions of HUBZones in order to allow companies in these areas to draw workers from adjacent communities.

• Supporting U.S. manufacturing. Manufacturing is the backbone of the American economy and maintaining a strong, innovative manufacturing base is essential to our future economic prosperity and national security. Maine has a long tradition of manufacturing, and manufacturers in our state have a reputation for producing high quality goods including paper products, footwear, ships, and lightweight composites. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, manufacturing in Maine has fallen by 40% resulting in the closure of far too many factories and with it too many jobs. .
• In recognizing the gravity of these challenges and the need to find substantive solutions, I joined the Senate Manufacturing Caucus to help preserve our national competitive advantage by supporting an innovative, highly skilled manufacturing sector. I am committed to supporting policies that promote free trade agreements which emphasize fairness among trading partners, initiatives that expand our export markets, and renewed investments in federal research and development.
• I have also written a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Justice and Related Agencies calling for robust funding of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). To read more about how the MEP helps U.S. manufacturers click here.

• Improving consumer data security. Today, companies must comply with 46 different state laws regulating notification and response practices in the event that a consumer’s electronic data becomes compromised. This patchwork approach has created unintended confusion for consumers and unnecessary compliance burdens for companies – and doesn’t always protect consumers. In an effort to create a more streamlined process, I have introduced legislation with Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) that would create a single national standard, providing better protections and swifter responses for consumers. In the event of a data breach, the bill would direct companies possessing personal data to notify consumers by mail, email or telephone if their information is stolen. Americans, regardless of where they live, need to know if their personal information has been compromised and our proposed framework offers a common-sense path forward.
• Reducing the risks of future financial crises: Maine is still struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, which erased thousands of jobs in the state and left Main Street to pick up the pieces when Wall Street’s riskiest financial transactions went awry.  We must protect the American taxpayer from having to shoulder another recession brought on by irresponsible practices of the biggest financial institutions.  The 21^st Century Glass-Steagall Act, which I have co-sponsored with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), separates commercial banks from investment banks in order to make “Too Big to Fail" institutions smaller and safer, thereby minimizing the likelihood of a government bailout financed by the American taxpayer.