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As the Bangor Daily News editorial board pointed out, we can thank the Inflation Reduction Act for helping to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate harmful greenhouse gasses around the country and here in Maine.
But in the spirit of giving credit where it’s due, we should also point out who’s responsible for causing this problem in the first place. I believe that would be Sen. Susan Collins, who spent years confirming the anti-environment judges who created this very problem that the Inflation Reduction Act is now trying to address.
Consider Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Of the many reasons Mainers opposed his 2018 nomination to the Supreme Court, one was his abysmal environmental record. Looking at his prior opinions on the lower court, it was clear Kavanaugh would consistently side in favor of corporate polluters. Once on the Supreme Court, he did just that – joining the other Republican-appointed justices in a June ruling that eviscerated the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority.
Kavanaugh’s anti-environmental record alone should have been enough for Collins to withhold her support, but she voted to confirm him anyway. Now, the least Collins could do is help Congress clean up the environmental mess that Kavanaugh helped create.
The Inflation Reduction Act does a lot to help our fight against climate change, and it’s disappointing that Collins refused to join the rest of Maine’s delegation in supporting this bill. She claims to be an environmental champion, but time and again her votes tell a different story.
Charles Skold
Portland
