by Jonathan Reisman

I take my blood pressure medication every day. I exercise and watch my weight. I practice yoga and mindfulness. But there is no protecting my blood pressure from Senator Collins using her Senate Appropriations Vice-Chairmanship to earmark and proudly announce more than half a million dollars for a woke Down East Non-Government Organization (NGO) allegedly committed to job creation and economic development to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI, also stands for “Didn’t Earn It”).

Here is the March 25 Collins press release, which the SCEC trumpeted in their weekly e-mail blast on April Fools’ Day (Trigger Warning: if you believe in a colorblind free market capitalist society, this could cause nausea and dangerously raise your blood pressure.)

$541,000 for Sunrise County Economic Council Secured by Senator Collins

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $541,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.   Congress has passed the bill, and the President has signed it into law.  

“This investment will provide small business owners and entrepreneurs in Washington County with increased access to crucial technical assistance, helping to promote economic growth in the region,” said Senator Collins.  “As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this funding, which will support communities throughout Washington County.”

“It is the mission of Sunrise County Economic Council to initiate and facilitate job creation and prosperity in Washington County by working with a consortium of community-minded businesses, not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and citizens,” said Denise Cilley, Director of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Sunrise County Economic Council.  “This support from Senator Collins will provide the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Team at SCEC with the needed capacity to deepen their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility across all programs and technical assistance provided by and through MaineStreet Business Building.”

SCEC provides training and support to business owners in Washington County.  This funding will support the expansion of in-person and virtual technical assistance and resource connection programs for local small businesses and startups.  

This funding is part of the 231 targeted investments Senator Collins secured through the FY2024 appropriations process, driving more than $577 million to the state for projects throughout each of Maine’s 16 counties.

In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins secured more than $500 million for hundreds of Maine projects for FY2022 and FY2023.  As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities. 

Congressionally Directed Spending and targeted investments are swamp speak for earmarks and woke pork (the other white meat, although it has some green fungus as well). Ensuring that would-be entrepreneurs are indoctrinated in and practice woke capitalism would seem to be SCEC’s new mission. It goes well with their conviction that the higher energy costs and reduction in grid reliability associated with the climate alarmist agenda SCEC is also pushing is totally consistent with job creation and prosperity in Washington County. If that wasn’t enough, SCEC is proud of obtaining millions in federal Heritage/Park Service Planning dollars in exchange for giving the environmental left another chance to hobble Down East Maine.

Searching for any kind of silver (is that preference white supremacy?) lining, I will ask SCEC and Senator Collins for their definitions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. You cannot assess how successful (or disastrous) an initiative is without a clear definition of what the goal (and success) is. When I went to the SCEC annual meeting last fall, it was clear they did not have a ready definition of equity, which they were touting. I suggested that Equity means equal outcomes, which did not make them happy. Perhaps they have wised up with their newfound grant-fed opulence, but I doubt it.