Sen. Susan Collins Responds to ProPublica: ‘A Disgraceful Smear Job’

0:01Everyone wants healthcare to be simpler and easier. That's why UnitedHealth Group is fast-tracking more than 60 % of children's procedures that used to need pre-approval. So more kids get the care they need when they need it. And speeding up procedure approvals and payments for more than 1 ,500 rural hospitals. So they can focus on caring for their communities. And that's just the start. Learn more at uhg.com slash access. From the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, this is All Things with Kim Strassel. The Senate races to finish any last business so that members can depart home to campaign for the midterms.

0:43What, if anything, can get done this final week? And what exactly is waiting for Republicans in those races back home? Welcome to All Things with Kim Strassel. And joining me this week is a woman who can speak to both those questions, as she is not only the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, but running in one of the toughest midterm races in the country. Maine Senator Susan Collins. Senator, welcome. Thank you for coming on. Thank you, Kim. It's great to join you. And, you know, before we even go on, you have one other distinction I just want to shout out because it is now one of my biggest complaints these days, having covered Congress as long as I have, that so many members of Congress don't actually work.

1:24So I just want to shout out here, you all the way back in June of this year hit an extraordinary milestone, casting your 10 ,000th straight roll call vote without a single absence. So from 1997 to that day, never missed a vote. What's your advice for other members who might not see all the benefits of sticking around D.C. as much as you do? I think it's so important to show up for work each and every day. That was a lesson that I learned growing up in Northern Maine. Each year, the schools would get out and the schoolchildren would go help the potatoes be harvested. And I remember my mother saying, now, Susan, if you're going to pick potatoes, and I was all of age 10, you cannot quit.

2:16It's really hard work, but the farmer's depending on you. And that's the kind of work ethic that I learned at such an early age. And it has been part of me my whole life. Well, I have some understanding of that. Where I grew up in Oregon, we went out at age 10 and picked strawberries. I'm not sure the field bosses were happy we stayed at work because we threw them at each other usually by the end of the day. But it was a good work ethic rule. I do want to talk about your race. But before we get to that, the Senate was supposed to be in session until October. It now looks as if it may close shop early, cut loose members, send them home.

2:55There's lots of possibilities being floated in the news. Possibility of permitting reform, of a college athletes bill, of a vote on data center costs, a war powers resolution on Iran, maybe some confirmations. What, if anything, do you see actually happening before the Senate leaves, or is the answer none of the above? That's a really hard question to answer. Right now we're on the College Sports Bill, the Name, Image, and Likeness Bill. Whether we'll be able to complete that, I really don't know. But from my perspective, we should be taking up a permitting bill. We've been talking about that for a long time, that would make such a difference in providing more affordable housing more quickly, more energy more quickly.

3:50It would make a difference ultimately in projects that would help lower costs. And I think that's what our focus should be. I've also suggested that we bring of the military construction veterans administration bill. That's a funding bill that the Appropriations Committee has a pretty good bipartisan consensus for. The House has passed its version, and I think it would be important to send a signal to those who are serving us in the military and also to those who have served us, our veterans, that we've taken care of a billion dollar gap in veterans health care. So that would be a second priority for me.

4:44And third, I'd love to see a bill that Senator Gene Shaheen of New Hampshire and I have been working on for a long time that would place a cap on the price of insulin, a drug that's been around for more than 100 years. And it would make a real difference if we capped the cost of insulin. For those who receive insurance through the workplace, it's already been capped under the Medicare program at$35 a month. The average price is often$150 a month. So that's an area where I think we could make a real difference in health care costs. What's the holdup with the permitting bill? There still are some issues about how broad its reach should be.

5:39And I hope this isn't just the Democrats playing games with this. I hope they're sincere in their wanting to do a permitting bill. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia has worked very hard on this bill, and I think it would make such a difference. It's simply too hard to get an important energy project. I would like to see, for example, us in Maine have access to the shale gas that comes from Pennsylvania. That requires a pipeline to bring it to Maine. That would lessen our dependence on home heating oil. We're the most dependent state in the nation on home heating oil and would also give us a cleaner form of energy.

6:35But the permitting for that when you're crossing state lines is just impossible. It would make a big difference on housing as well. And I think we need to simplify and expedite the process. I know that there have been negotiations ongoing all weekend and that the majority leader, John Thune, has given a deadline of tomorrow for whether or not we're going to be able to bring up the bill. I surely hope that we can. Let's hope so. It is so sorely needed. We're going to take a quick break when we come back. More with Susan Collins from the state of Maine. Everyone wants health care to be simpler and easier.

7:21That's why UnitedHealth Group is fast tracking more than 60 % of children's procedures that used to need pre-approval. So more kids get the care they need when they need it. And speeding up procedure approvals and payments for more than 1 ,500 rural hospitals so they can focus on caring for their communities. And that's just the start. Learn more at uhg.com slash access.

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8:36Welcome back to All Things with Kim Strossel, and I'm here this week with Maine Senator Susan Collins. I want to just ask one more question on this topic since you brought it up. You mentioned Democrats playing games, and I want to talk about the other side of the equation here real quick this past year. I have been very critical of the GOP at times for failing to rally around some priorities or an agenda for the fall. And, you know, I continue to think it's a shame that there isn't more that's been done. But you're a bipartisan member. You just talked about a bill you've been doing with Jane Shaheen.

9:08Can you talk about that? Because you've been in Congress a long time. There seems to be historic levels right now of obstructionism to some stuff. The shutdowns of last year and this year. I note that, you know, I think that there are some other things that you've called for that didn't move anywhere. The defense authorization bill, which Congress has passed for 65 consecutive years, but it hasn't managed to pass this year. Legislation to prevent future shutdowns. Legislation to reform immigration and customs enforcement. It strikes me that those were things that all had the potential to pass, but they didn't.

9:41And solely in a way because of bloody mindedness on the other side. There's definitely a polarization and politicization of issues that really matter to our country and to the American people. For example, as you just mentioned, we have passed for decades a defense authorization bill and a defense appropriations bill. The president has submitted a high defense budget of$1.5 trillion, and tomorrow we're going to have a classified briefing for the members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee so that we can question the administration to find out in detail what is needed. Everybody knows we need more munitions, for example, and we need to improve the quality of life for our servicemen and women.

10:47We need more help with drones and counter-drone technology. The whole nature of warfare has changed. We've seen that in Ukraine and in Israel. But we need the details. That should not be a partisan issue. having a strong national defense, and it never used to be. The defense authorization bill always passed with a strong bipartisan vote, as did the funding bill that we produce out of appropriations. We need to search for common ground and do what is in the best interest of America. It's really shameful that partisan political games are being played. So let's talk about your race in Maine. You are no stranger to some very tough races there, being a Republican in Maine.

11:45And here we go again, including, and I'm just going to start with this, some nasty politics. And to that point, I'm going to go right at it. A remarkable story that just came out in which ProPublica regurgitates these seven-year-old claims made by a convicted felon who somehow argued your office was engaged in corruption. I should note that no less than the Biden FBI came out five years ago and said it had looked at all angles of this particular situation that this individual is involved in, said it was, quote, totally false that there had been wrongdoing by you or those who worked for you. Why is this story coming out now and what is going on here?

12:28Well, it's clearly a partisan hit job. And I've got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who's been convicted twice, twice, two separate cases of five counts of money laundering, accounts of bank fraud, false submissions to the FEC. He is a convicted liar. And when you contrast that to my decades of honest public service with the utmost integrity. It is so offensive. As you pointed out, the Biden-led Justice Department and FBI totally cleared my office, my campaign, and me five years ago of these seven-year-old allegations. And the FBI said again today that these are completely false.

13:39And it is so offensive. But clearly, the timing is not coincidental. This is a smear job. And as someone who has always prided herself on serving with integrity, It really offends me. And I'm offended for my staff, too, both on the campaign and in the personal office. So shame on ProPublica for taking the words of a twice convicted felon over my office campaign staff and me. It's disgraceful. Well, there you have it. That is from Susan Collins right there, the definitive comment on that story. In Maine, going back to this spring, you couldn't move for hearing about the Maine Senate race, mostly because of all the attention that was being lavished on Graham Plattner, who became the Democratic nominee.

14:46Of course, his party shoved him aside and then unilaterally chose to replace him with Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate president. And since then, I cannot help but notice there seems to be radio silence on the Democratic side about that race. What is your opponent's primary campaign pitch and what are you doing to counter it there? Well, I'm stressing my record of service and the fact that when I became chair of the Appropriations Committee last year, it had been 92 years since the Maine senator had held that position. So that has enabled me to shape national policy in areas that I really care about.

15:33We've talked about national defense, which is certainly one, our national security. But another is medical research. I rejected and put together a bipartisan coalition to reject the administration's proposals last year to cut the budget for the National Institutes of Health by 41%. Instead, we increased the budget by$415 million. And that finances research that will lead eventually to better treatments and means of prevention or someday a cure of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease. I've worked really hard on funding for diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, and for cancer. And those are priorities for me.

16:31They're priorities on both sides of the aisle. And I think we can prevail on that again this year. My opponent's approach is really to engage in a lot of slogans. He's for Medicare for All and says that it can be paid for by simply taxing billionaires. Well, Kim, as you know, you could take every cent from every billionaire and it still wouldn't pay for Medicare for All over a 10-year period. And the people who would end up paying for it are working families. And if you look at the experience in other countries, it's not a coincidence that so many of them come to America for treatment because the waiting lines are so long.

17:26And you don't get to keep your own insurance if you like it. Everything is dictated by the government. I don't think that's what the American people want. And the second issue that Troy keeps pushing on that was Graham Plattner's requirement for his replacement was to be very anti-Israel, to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. When in fact, it was Hamas, the terrorist group, that killed more Jewish citizens of Israel and Americans on October 7th. The greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. And that included kidnapping children and killing children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children.

18:26We're going to take one more break when we come back. More about that Maine Senate election race. Everyone wants health care to be simpler and easier. That's why UnitedHealth Group is fast tracking more than 60 percent of children's procedures that used to need preapproval. So more kids get the care they need when they need it. And speeding up procedure approvals and payments for more than 1500 rural hospitals. So they can focus on caring for their communities. And that's just the start. Learn more at uhg.com slash access.

19:04From the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, this is All Things with Kim Strassel. Welcome back. One other question I have, though, is Republican voters, all voters, they're in a pretty grumpy mood right now. And those are incredibly powerful issues, especially, I mean, the health care point and also the Israel. They're motivating. People understand them. But people are also looking around. And obviously, the number one issue is cost of living questions out there. How big of a headwind are you facing as they relate to certain administration policies, say, for instance, tariffs, the trade war on Canada, etc.?

19:44I have been very forthright with the administration that I think the tariff policy is terrible. Maine and Canada's economies are very intertwined. For example, our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our timber, largely is harvested in Maine, processed in Canada, then comes back across the border. If you've got a tariff in both directions, you're increasing the cost tremendously for main families, for small businesses and large, and it is very poor policy. What I was going to say is to make the point that Canada is not China. It's our friend, our closest ally, our neighbor. And I think the tariffs there are a big mistake.

20:40I have worked with the administration and have been successful in exempting concrete and also rock salt, which is essential in the winter for the safety travel in Maine from the tariffs. It makes a huge difference to the small towns and their budgets. But we need to do much more, much, much more. And those policies increase the cost of living. So they are bad in every way. So just a final question here, because I think this is the big thing that a lot of voters have on their mind, is that Republicans are spending a lot of time in this race talking about what they've done for voters in the past, in particular, the one big, beautiful bill last year.

21:30And yes, that was great. It saved people from higher taxes, et cetera. But voters want to know, what are you going to do next for them? And, you know, as you go out and you're in Maine, how are you trying to phrase that to voters about what is the reason why they should return you in particular to the Senate, but want Republicans to stay in control? Well, I would go back to the cost of energy because that is a huge issue in my state. And I just today have asked the president to release oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. That's sort of like a strategic petroleum reserve board, the Northeast.

22:17That would help put downward pressure on prices, and it would increase supply in the Northeast. I also have joined with Jack Reed, the Democratic senator from Rhode Island, in asking the administration to release the low-income home heating program money right off. Winter is here. It's coming. It's right around the corner. We're filling our oil tanks right now. So low-income families and seniors on limited incomes need that assistance. We need to expand the weatherization program so that you don't have to spend as much to heat your home and stay warm in the winter. So energy costs are the number one issue that people are expressing real worry about to me.

23:15And I think those are three immediate steps that we could do permitting in the long term. I would note that when Joe Biden, when President Biden canceled the Excel pipeline, which would have brought in oil from Canada to the United States, that was an enormous mistake. Enormous. How I wish that that pipeline, which would be completed about now, I believe, were bringing more oil to us. We've got to become energy independent. Well, hear, hear. And you are right. It's all about the choices. We'll be watching to see what choices the Senate makes in the coming week and the choices of voters make as they go out this fall.

24:03We appreciate so much. You're taking the time coming in and talking with us this week. We want to thank our listeners for tuning in every week. We are here weekly. If you like the show, please do hit the subscribe button. And if you'd like to write to us, you can at ATKIM at WSJ.com.

24:26Everyone wants health care to be simpler and easier. That's why UnitedHealth Group is fast-tracking more than 60 % of children's procedures that used to need pre-approval. So more kids get the care they need when they need it. And speeding up procedure approvals and payments for more than 1 ,500 rural hospitals. So they can focus on caring for their communities. And that's just the start. Learn more at uhg.com slash access.