We read, with interest, Bill Nemitz’s column Sept. 9 (“Sen. Collins’ legacy faces key test with Kavanaugh“), wherein our colleague Susan Collins’ history with health care was recounted – incorrectly.
We know this because we were on the Senate floor next to Sen. Collins on the day in March that Democrat Sen. Patty Murray blocked Sen. Collins from adding to a must-pass spending bill the bipartisan health care stabilization package – which would have reduced premiums by up to 40 percent in 2019, according to the respected independent health care consultant Oliver Wyman.
Susan Collins had won the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and even President Trump with her persistent advocacy for legislation that would lower health care premiums in the Obamacare market and return power to the states. While she was busy convincing conservatives to stabilize the health insurance market, her Democrat colleagues were finding new reasons to prevent the bipartisan solution from being enacted into law.
It’s pointless now to wonder about Democrats’ rationale in preventing millions of Americans from having lower premiums, as disappointing as that decision was to all of us. But we stand behind the keen and careful judgment of our colleague Susan Collins. In our experience, there isn’t a single United States senator who is as independent in their decision-making as Susan Collins.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Washington, D.C.
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