Saint Jean-Baptiste Day - June 24

WHEREAS, Maine enjoys a large, vibrant Franco-American community, largely as a result of French Canadians immigrating to the state between 1840 and 1930; and

WHEREAS, at least twenty-five percent of Maine citizens claim Franco-American heritage, and French is the second-most spoken language in the state; and

WHEREAS, the significant cultural, economic, and civic contributions made by Franco-Americans have enriched the culture and lives of Maine people; and

Juneteenth - June 19

WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, officially ending slavery in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the freedom of most slaves depended on the advancement of the Union Army led by General Gordon Granger, who enforced the President’s order in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed; and

R. B. Hall Day - June 28

WHEREAS, Robert Browne Hall was born into a musical family living in Bowdoinham, Maine on June 30, 1858; and

WHEREAS, R.B. Hall accepted a call to rebuild the Bangor Band in the early 1880s and he accomplished this task with such skill that the grateful citizens on Bangor presented him with a gold Boston Three Star Ne-Plus cornet; and

Women Veterans Day - June 12

WHEREAS, throughout our nation’s history, women have served honorably and courageously both on and off the battlefield, though initially in limited and traditional gender roles such as nurses, cooks, and in other administrative support roles; and

WHEREAS, during World War I, women enlisted in the Navy as Yeoman (F) and the Marine Corps as Reservists (F) to serve on the home front as truck drivers, mechanics, radio operators, translators, and munitions workers, filling in for men who were deployed overseas; and

LGBTQ Pride - June

WHEREAS, the Stonewall riots that began on June 28, 1969, sparked the LGBTQ rights movement in America; and

WHEREAS, during these riots, LGBTQ citizens, led by transgender women of color, rose up and resisted police harassment that arose out of discriminatory criminal laws that have since been declared unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, in the decades since the Stonewall riots, Pride celebrations have taken place around the country every June to commemorate this historic turning point for the LGBTQ community; and

Dairy Month - June

WHEREAS, in keeping since 1939, June has been designated as the time to celebrate the bounty of dairy products and pay tribute to U.S. dairy farmers and their contribution to and important role in agriculture; and

WHEREAS, one hundred thirty-seven Maine dairy farms care for herds of cows, goats, and sheep and steward 700,000 acres of desirable and critical farmland, which also provide numerous public benefits in addition to agricultural products, such as scenic and open spaces that enhance their communities; and

Federal Cuts to Medicaid Would Harm Maine People

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.

Samantha Smith Day - June 1

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

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