Golden votes against cutting funds that support Maine’s marine resources, Acadia National Park

WASHINGTON — In an early morning vote today, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) opposed the House Natural Resources Committee’s (HNRC) portion of the GOP’s reconciliation budget. 

The final package proposes $1 billion in federal spending cuts, including cuts targeting several programs that support Maine’s marine resources economy, coastal communities and Acadia National Park. The committee advanced the package in a 26-17 vote. 

“Maine’s way of life and economy are inextricably tied to our lands and waters. When I joined this committee this year, I pledged to advocate for Maine’s natural resources and to use my position to champion investment and stewardship to support our state,” Golden said. “This proposal would undermine investments in our marine resources and Acadia National Park. I could not, in good conscience, support it.” 

The package proposes $100 million in cuts for Inflation Reduction Act funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Affected funding streams support fisheries, marine and coastal habitats, and stock assessments. They have supported projects in Maine including fish passage restoration for Atlantic salmon and other migratory species; rebuilding salt marshes to reduce roadway flooding hazards in communities Downeast; and an initiative to recover, recycle and refabricate marine debris material in the Gulf of Maine, such as ghost lobster traps and derelict aquaculture gear.

“I have gone toe to toe with NOAA to oppose regulatory proposals that could harm Maine’s fishing communities, and to demand regulators give Maine lobstermen and fishermen a seat at the table,” Golden said. “But the funding streams targeted for cuts in this bill support worthy conservation, restoration, and infrastructure efforts that have helped protect Maine’s natural resources and make our communities more resilient. There’s no reason to put them on the chopping block.”

The package advanced out of committee also would slash $279 million from the National Park Service, threatening funding streams that have supported resiliency, habitat restoration and jobs at Acadia National Park.

House and Senate Republicans sent reconciliation instructions to all House Committees on April 10. Those instructions required the Natural Resources Committee to cut funding by $1 billion — part of the GOP’s plan to slash health care and cut taxes for the wealthy while adding more than $ 7 trillion in new debt over the next decade. 

Congressman Golden voted against the GOP’s reckless reconciliation plan in February and again in April, and has been critical of efforts to undermine working families and the fiscal stability of the nation while padding giveaways to the wealthy. 

“There’s a better way forward: Congress could target tax cuts to working families, paid for by allowing the expiration of tax cuts for the very wealthy,” Golden said in April. “We don’t need to take away anyone’s health care or pass trillions in new deficit spending to pass a budget that puts the middle class first.”