Stimulus bill: As Maine goes...

REPUBLICAN congressional leaders say they don't want to become known as "the party of 'no.' " But every one of the House Republicans voted against the crucial economic stimulus bill last week. The bill passed easily without a single Republican vote, but things are different this week in the Senate, where at least two Republican votes are needed to cut off debate and pass the measure. Among the most closely watched Republican senators will be the two women from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Here is why they should find a way to get to "yes":

Maine has an unemployment rate of 7 percent, its highest level in 17 years. It is facing a current state budget deficit of $140 million, and another $177 million gap is projected for the fiscal year beginning in July. Like many states facing budget shortfalls, Maine has been forced to cut services or raise fees. It has cut per-pupil spending for public education, increased tuitions for state colleges, cut money for homeless shelters, and imposed a $25 enrollment fee for poor patients using Medicaid, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.

The federal stimulus bill passed by the House would allocate $2.38 billion to Maine. About 10 percent of that would go to balance the state budget, with the rest going to infrastructure spending, safety-net programs, and tax cuts. Although the numbers in the Senate version of the bill are still in flux, the House plan included $190 million in school aid, including money to renovate or repair public school buildings; $434 million for Medicaid; and $9.2 million in worker retraining funds for the unemployed.

Which of these lifelines would senators Collins or Snowe decline in the names of their constituents?

Collins, a moderate who bucked the Democratic tide to win a third term in November, has been a point person in adjusting the House bill to make it more palatable to her Senate colleagues. In an interview yesterday, she said she hopes to get the bill into a shape she can support, but said that at present, "I think it's bloated in programs that are not stimulative."

We are sure there are some parts of a nearly $900 billion bill that could be trimmed, and Collins herself points to funds for cyber-security and to prepare for pandemic flu. And Collins does support aid to the states, safety-net programs such as increased unemployment benefits and food stamps, and money for special education. But she says the overall package should be closer to $650 billion. That's a lot of foregone help for a desperate economy.

Collins is scheduled to meet with President Obama today and says she is "not drawing any hard lines." That's good. Fifty-thousand or more of her constituents are walking their own hard line: the unemployment line.