Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Well, we know you can't have a healthy economy without healthy people. Every one of us during our lifetime will need health care, some more than others, at different times in their lives. That's what happened to Bethany. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and Medicaid, or MaineCare in Maine, was the only health insurance she had access to. She was self-employed and it was way too expensive to add her to her husband's health insurance. And luckily, her cancer treatment has been fully covered through MaineCare since her diagnosis in 2023.

But that might not be the case anymore if the federal government moves forward with various proposed changes to the Medicaid program nationally.

As of January 2025, about 392,000 Maine people like Bethany had their health insurance through MaineCare, including more than 140,000 children. More than 80,000 people were covered under MaineCare expansion approved by the voters in 2017, which carries with it a 90% match by the federal government. That MaineCare coverage is especially important in rural counties, where health care coverage may not be affordable or accessible based on their unemployment rates and average household incomes. For example, about 40% of the entire populations of Aroostook County, Washington County and Somerset County rely on MaineCare for their health coverage.

In large part to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, the United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make sweeping changes to Medicaid that will have devastating consequences. Fewer people will have access to health insurance, and as a consequence, they may well put off going to the doctor until it's too late. Hospitals, nursing homes, health care providers, especially in the rural counties, could end up taking on the cost of caring for people who don't have health insurance.

Our economy will suffer. Look, you can't have a healthy economy without healthy people. The proposed federal cuts will also endanger the lives of people who rely on MaineCare for treatment -- people like Bethany. She's got an MRI scheduled for her breast cancer in a few months. Now she worries about whether that appointment will be covered by her health insurance, MaineCare.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in every ten adults in the United States with a history of cancer relied on Medicaid for their health care in 2023. Look, they shouldn't have to worry that their lifesaving care is going to be cut in the federal budget.

The bill passed by the House of Representatives also shifts significant costs to states like Maine in a variety of ways. And on top of those proposed changes, the federal government has also proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act, on which many people rely. The bill would shorten our open enrollment period and make other changes, and make it very difficult to obtain that health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which is what many people rely on who aren't eligible for MaineCare. We want everybody to be covered.

That bill would also make it more likely that self-employed or seasonally employed people would be hit by unexpected income tax bills. They'd lose the tax credit for their health care - thousands of dollars - because their income fluctuates. These unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles will have the effect of kicking an estimated 51,000 people in Maine off of their health care, including low income workers, older adults and children with special medical conditions.

Look, I spent a year before my husband, Stan, died fighting with the health insurance industry to make sure he got the care he needed. I know how devastating these changes will be for families across Maine. I will keep speaking up against them so they don't become law.

If you receive health care through MaineCare or CoverME.gov, which is the Affordable Care Act, I encourage you to contact Members of Congress to share with that coverage means to you. They need to hear your story.

You can't have a healthy economy without healthy people. I wish good health to all the people of Maine and fair health insurance coverage.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, Samantha Smith, a Maine native, looked upon the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union with the innocence of a ten-year-old child; and

WHEREAS, through a letter to Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov, Samantha Smith expressed her fears of the possible threat of nuclear holocaust; and

WHEREAS, after receiving the letter, Premier Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit the Soviet Union where she learned that its citizens, especially its children, were very similar to those in Maine; and

WHEREAS, gardens play a large role in Maine’s economy, providing employment for thousands of people across the State and generating millions in sales of crops from blueberries and potatoes to flowers and trees; and

WHEREAS, gardens in Maine can range from a few backyard garden beds of roses or vegetables to commercial farms that encompass hundreds of acres; and

WHEREAS, Maine Clean Water Week is celebrated to recognize the value, importance, and need to protect and conserve our water resources; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of the State of Maine should be able to rely on a safe and dependable supply of clean water both now and in the future; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Well, this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, and it's a time when we remember those members of our military who sacrificed their lives in service to their country. It's also the unofficial beginning of Maine's busy summer season.

Last year, a record number of cars, at least a million cars, traveled the Maine Turnpike to bring friends and family to our state throughout the holiday weekend. For many communities and businesses across Maine, these upcoming weeks are vital. Yet ever-changing federal tariffs and months of harmful rhetoric aimed at Canada have created a great deal of uncertainty for this busy season.

So, this week I met with some small business owners in York County and we discussed the impact of tariff uncertainty, and the strained cross-border relations on Maine businesses with close ties to Canada. We met at the Seaside Inn in Kennebunk, which is Maine's oldest business and a beloved destination of tourists from both sides of the border. In fact, it is the oldest continuously operating business in the United States. This year though, the inn has seen a sharp drop in visitors from Canada.

Some of the small businesses there told me that uncertainty created by the president's tariffs, and the president's negative rhetoric towards Canada, has made our Canadian neighbors feel very unwelcome in the United States and uncertain about visiting the state of Maine. Well, last year nearly 800,000 people, about 5% of our visitors, were from Canada and they spent nearly half a billion dollars here. But this year, just from February to April alone, 166,000 fewer Canadians traveled by land to Maine. That's 26% less than the same period last year. That's a big drop in visitors. So, my administration is doing what we can to market Maine as a destination for Canadian travelers.

For example, Massachusetts Governor Healey, New York Governor Hochul, Connecticut Governor Lamont, Rhode Island Governor McKee, and Vermont Governor Phil Scott, and I have scheduled a summit with the premiers of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec to be held in Boston on June 16th. At that meeting, I plan to discuss our partnerships with Canadians and our work to ensure that our historic friendship and our deeply intertwined economies will endure for generations to come.

I look forward to that meeting, and in the meantime, I've directed the Maine Department of Transportation to place brand new signs at our border crossings with Canada and near popular destinations to welcome Canadian travelers to our state. They are bilingual signs and the first sign was placed in Old Orchard Beach this week and it says "Bienvenue Canadiens" or "Welcome Canadians." The Department of Economic and Community Development is also making versions of these signs, smaller signs, available free of charge for Maine businesses across the state to place in their windows to make Canadians feel welcome this summer.

Look, I know that a sign alone cannot fix this economic uncertainty, but it can convey to our neighbors that they are welcome here, and that we do value their presence in our state. We do not feel hostility towards our Canadian friends and neighbors.

We may have seen a decline in Canadian tourism so far this season, but we can market Maine as a premier destination for visitors on both sides of the border. I'm planning to take my own trip into Canada this summer and I hope you'll consider doing so as well with your family. Make sure they know we're still friends.

Well, while this holiday weekend marks the beginning of the busiest season for visitors in Maine, we also can't forget that Monday also marks Memorial Day. When, again, we honor the men and women who gave their lives for our country and when we commit to making sure that their sacrifice for our freedoms and our liberty is never forgotten.

I encourage all Maine people to take some time on Monday in solemn remembrance of our deceased military.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Earlier this week I joined the families and friends of Maine's fallen officers at the Law Enforcement Memorial in Augusta to pay tribute to those who lost their lives protecting and serving communities across our great state.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Among the names on that stone wall are those of Gil Landry and David Payne. David Payne was an officer with the Lewiston Police Department who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1988. Barely a year after that, Gil Landry, a State Police detective assigned to my District Attorney's office, was also shot and killed in the line of duty. And because of their deaths, law enforcement people and families around the state raised $125,000 to create this Law Enforcement Memorial, and I have been pleased to speak on this occasion many times in the past.

The 90 individuals whose names are carved on the Law Enforcement Memorial wall in Augusta, were sheriffs and deputies, chiefs of police and patrolmen, park rangers, game wardens, troopers, and detectives. Many of them had served this country in various wars and in branches of the military. They were from Androscoggin County and Auburn, Bath and Baxter State Park, Cumberland and Calais, Oxford and Orono, Paris and Penobscot, Lebanon and Lincoln, Westbrook, Washington, and nearly every town and territory in between. Young and old, veteran or rookie, these men sacrificed their own lives to protect life and property and peace in the State of Maine.

This week, we added the names of two men to the memorial.

Officer Herbert Tarbox of the Falmouth Police Department, a Navy veteran who served in World War II and in the Korean War. Officer Tarbox died in 1959 of a heart attack while administering first aid to a man who had lost consciousness in his vehicle.

And Sergeant Richard Betters of the Portland Police Department, a very popular sergeant who died in 2009 from a heart attack he'd suffered after evacuating people from a burning building. And last year, Sergeant Betters’ colleagues from the Portland Police Department attended the high school graduation of his daughter, Fiona, who has gone on to study criminal justice at the University of Arizona. Well, that's the way Maine's law enforcement community shows up for each other. And that is how we honor these men whose names are carved into the Law Enforcement Memorial. By being the best citizens we can be, the most protective, the most unselfish, the most civil in our common humanity, and the most caring of our human community.

To the men and women in uniform who are today upholding the rule of law, that rule of law which those officers gave their lives for, I say this: please know that I acknowledge the risks that you take when you show up for work every day. I see the sacrifice of your loved ones who are waiting to know if you'll come home safe. I see the spirit of our fallen officers embodied in your commitment to keep our state the safest place in the nation to live, work, and raise a family.

I thank members of law enforcement across the state for their integrity, fairness, compassion, and their sense of duty in the thousand daily acts of service they perform every day on behalf of Maine people.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, forest trees cover eighty-nine percent of Maine's land, making the state the most heavily forested in the United States; and

WHEREAS, city and town shade trees provide natural beauty, shade, and refreshing health for urban environments; and

WHEREAS, trees can reduce erosion of topsoil by wind and water, moderate the temperature, clean the air, produce oxygen, and provide habitat for wildlife; and

WHEREAS, the safe operation of a motorcycle requires training, use of good judgment, and thorough knowledge of traffic laws and licensing requirements; and

WHEREAS, most motorists are unaware that the majority of motorcycle crashes with another motor vehicle take place on local roads with speed limits between 35 mph and 55 mph; and

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Well, earlier this week, the federal government -- the Department of Education -- announced that it will be restarting collections on overdue student loan payments, which had been paused for the last five years.

If you have student loan debt, you might be kind of worried about your ability to pay it off. You may also not know that there's a simple state tax credit here in Maine that could save you thousands of dollars on your loans. So let's talk about it.

When I took office, Maine was projected to lose 65,000 workers by the year 2030 as older people retired and too few young people entered the labor market. Well, to encourage more young people to start careers in our state after they graduate from school, we made Maine's student loan relief programs less complicated and more generous. In fact, it's the most generous one in the country.

For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, graduates can receive an income tax credit for their student loan payments of up to $2,500 a year or up to $25,000 over their lifetime. Unlike our old tax credit that had a lot of complicated criteria, our new student loan repayment tax credit is simple and straightforward. Basically, if you graduated from school any time after 2007 with a degree in any subject, from any accredited community college, college, or university anywhere, and you now live in Maine and pay income taxes in Maine, then you'll qualify.

I've read that about 190,000 people in Maine owe a collective $6.5 billion all told in student loan debt. That's about an average of $34,000 each. Well, if you're one of those graduates and if you're paying down your student loan, you could claim this student loan repayment tax credit on your state taxes and you could knock out as much as $25,000 of that debt over time.

Student loan debt is a real burden that could hold people back from living here in Maine. If graduates keep leaving for jobs in other states, our economy just won't grow. With the federal government restarting collections on overdue student loans, I strongly encourage you to consider claiming Maine's student loan repayment tax credit. If you didn't take it in previous tax years or if you forgot to take it when you filed your 2024 return and you were paying on a student loan, you can still file an amended return.

The strength of our economy here in Maine depends on keeping talented people working in our state. There's a simple, generous, and clear tax credit to help you pay down your student debt and start or continue a career in Maine. Take advantage of it today, won't you?

For more information about the Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit, please visit maine.gov/revenue. That's maine.gov/revenue.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you again for listening.

WHEREAS, registered nurses in the United States constitute our nation’s largest health care profession; and

WHEREAS, the depth and breadth of the registered nursing profession meets the different and emerging health care needs of the American population in a wide range of settings, such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes, in-patient clinics, and more; and

WHEREAS, professional nursing is an indispensable component of the safety and quality of care of hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients; and