Governor Mills: Please, get your COVID-19 shot today. It’s critical.

Earlier this week, I was pleased to announce that the State of Maine has achieved another vaccination milestone: 80 percent of adults in Maine have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s everybody over the age of 18.

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

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80.2 percent of adults aged 18 and older in Maine have received a COVID-19 vaccination. We are one of only six states in the nation so far to reach this milestone.

Maine is also the third best in the nation in the percentage of people who are fully vaccinated, with more than 64 percent – including children under 12 who are not even yet eligible for a vaccine – fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

That’s third best in the nation, more than 64 percent of our entire population, fully vaccinated.

Maine also continues to make progress in vaccinating younger people, with more than 50 percent of young people ages 12 to 19 fully vaccinated.

I applaud Maine people for their willingness to roll up their sleeves and get their shot. But we’re not letting down our guard, we have not quit yet, people are still getting sick and there are many people who still haven’t gotten vaccinated.

We know that vaccinations are the best tool to protect the health of all Maine people, including children who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine. Let’s not put them at risk. That’s unfair. It’s the best tool to protect them, and your family and your friends, and your coworkers from COVID-19 and from the more contagious and the deadly Delta variant that is spreading across Maine and across the nation right now. 

It is just crucial that we continue to make progress and keep fighting back against this pandemic. We can do it.

If you haven’t had your shot, please, talk to your doctor if you feel uncomfortable about it, about getting vaccinated and how it can protect your health and potentially save your life. If you know anybody who is not yet vaccinated, encourage them to get vaccinated.

It’s simple, it’s accessible, it doesn’t cost anything, it’s available in every community.

All three of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines have proven extremely effective. They are safe and they save lives.

COVID-19 vaccines are available at no charge at sites across the state. For information on getting a vaccine, please visit Maine.gov/covid19/vaccines or call the Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111.

Please, get your shot today. It’s critical.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: Downpour or drizzle, we now have a strong umbrella for the next rainy day.

Maine’s “Rainy Day” Fund, otherwise known as the Budget Stabilization Fund, is our state’s savings account to prepare for the possibility of an economic downturn sometime in the future.

As a result of the most recent budget I signed on July 20,th we deposited another $223.6 million in the Rainy Day Fund. Since my first day in office two and a half years ago, my Administration has worked in bipartisan fashion with the Legislature to more than double — that’s right, more than double — the Rainy Day Fund to bring it to an historic high of nearly $500 million.

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

When I came into office, I made it a priority to continue building up the Rainy Day Fund. I’ve had experience with downturns in the economy and I know that we have to save for a rainy day. 

Boy then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and we knew the shock to our economy — and to state revenues — was likely to be serious.

So at the beginning of the pandemic, my administration worked with the Legislature to take the surplus state government had and save part of it for the emergency we knew was on the horizon. In the weeks that followed, I also instructed State government to be thrifty and we implemented a curtailment order. Those fiscally responsible decisions, plus prudent management of Departmental spending throughout the pandemic and some significant federal support, allowed us to maintain critical government services for Maine people — and rather than take away from the Rainy Day Fund, like many other states had to do, we added to ours. We needed to be prepared.

As we emerge from the pandemic, this sound fiscal management has positioned us well to continue our economic recovery and to send a strong message to bond rating agencies about our financial stability — in fact, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s credit rating agencies have cited Maine’s governance practices and its reserves in the Budget Stabilization Fund as grounds for reaffirming Maine’s Aa2 and AA bond ratings, respectively, and for rating Maine’s debt as being stable, even during the pandemic, even while they’ve downgraded ratings of other states.

Well, I am proud of the progress my Administration and the Legislature have made together on this important front.

As we continue our economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, we’ll keep working with the Legislature to make methodical, rational deposits into the Rainy Day Fund to combat any unforeseen economic changes in the years to come.  

The pandemic has taught us how important it is to be prepared for whatever challenge Maine may face.

Downpour or drizzle, we now have a strong umbrella for the next rainy day.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening. 

 


Governor Mills: Preventing addiction, persevering through this opioid epidemic, and achieving our full promise as a people and a place.

The US CDC recently reported that more than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses nationwide last year, a staggering record reflecting the coronavirus pandemic’s toll on efforts to quell the opioid crisis and the continued spread of illegal fentanyl in the narcotic supply.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Here in Maine, the Attorney General’s Office disclosed that 504 people died from opioid overdose in 2020, a 33 percent increase over the year before. More than 300 of those deaths were due to fentanyl, a 30 percent increase over the year before. Sadly, those numbers have not improved to date this year.

The pandemic has been difficult in so many ways, but this increase in drug overdose deaths is another example of how it has hurt our state and our entire nation.

My heart breaks for the friends, family, and community members we have lost – people who had meaningful lives.

Our state is diminished by their loss. Our nation is diminished by these deaths.

There is no simple solution to ending substance use disorder and these overdoses, but at my third annual overdose response summit, we rededicated ourselves to preventing addiction, persevering through this opioid epidemic, and achieving our full promise as a people and a place.

To prevent early use of addictive substances by children and young people, we will increase the number of children’s behavioral health counselors, promote healthy outdoor afterschool programs, and leverage funds from the private sector and the federal government to sustain successful prevention efforts led by community members across Maine.

And to reduce the number of prescribed and illegally obtained opioids, we will use the Prescription Monitoring Program to identify and educate physicians and others who overprescribe opioids and we will strengthen law enforcement’s efforts to prosecute drug traffickers who are bringing these substances to our streets.

Just in the last few months, in several different incidents, our Department of Public Safety seized more than four pounds of fentanyl from the streets of Augusta, Bangor, Portland, Old Orchard Beach and across the state. Four pounds! When a tiny amount will kill somebody. Four pounds!

And to ensure that treatment for substance use disorder is affordable and accessible, we will work to expand medication assisted treatment and to educate people with substance use disorders on different treatment options so they can find the best program for their needs.

And to support life-long successful recovery, especially for young Mainers, we are increasing the number of recovery coaches and expanding and broadening the StrengthenME program, a coalition of community organizations and agencies providing free resiliency resources to anyone experiencing hardships caused by the pandemic.

We have a long way to go towards healing our state, but there is always hope and the hard work of Maine people which has seen us through hard times before.

We survived the last sixteen months not just by staying apart to stay safe, but by treating each other with compassion and care, connecting in different ways to those who need it most. That’s at the heart of who we are. It is also at the heart of our perseverance through this pandemic.

With one crisis waning, we now redouble our efforts to reach every person struggling with substance use disorder. We say, with one voice, your home is here. We promise to never lose hope. We are ready to help.

If anyone listening right now needs support, or knows someone who does, please call 207-221-8198, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find resources online at knowyouroptions.me.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is likely the most transformational legislation of our lifetimes.

The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan — which is modeled on the advice of experts and is backed by a wide coalition of organizations and supported by funding from the American Rescue Plan – is likely the most transformational legislation of our lifetimes and on July 19th, I was proud to sign it into law.

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

In May I announced the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan – my administration’s proposal to invest more than $1 billion allocated to the State of Maine under the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.

Our proposal focused on making historic investments in unaddressed needs and longstanding challenges to achieve three goals: immediate economic recovery from the pandemic; long-term economic growth for Maine; and infrastructure revitalization.

Our proposal will ensure that Maine is known as a safe place to live and work, a place where everyone has the benefit of a good education, a rewarding career, and good connectivity. A place of unrivaled physical beauty and natural resources, where you can raise a happy and healthy family, and live comfortably in a community that you love in the most beautiful state in the country.

I am grateful for lawmakers’ work on the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, which has incorporated many weeks of research and drafting by my Administration, to focus on the immediate need to rebuild our economy and improve the lives of working families after the financial shock of the pandemic.

I am disappointed that, although Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature agreed on more than 95 percent of our proposal, the Legislature passed the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan along party lines, postponing the investment of millions of dollars in Maine people.

Because of the Legislature’s lack of consensus, we now have to wait ninety days, but this fall when we are able to deploy funds allocated by this plan, our state will be able to address challenges in an unprecedented way, with unprecedented tools that will hopefully contribute to unprecedented economic growth.

$20 million to expand childcare; $50 million to build more affordable housing; a total of $150 million to achieve universally available high-speed internet; $39 million to lower health costs for small businesses and their employees; $105 million to train workers to succeed in new and emerging fields; $50 million to upgrade our state parks and nearly $25 million to ensure safe drinking water; and $50 million for Maine’s farms, fishing, and forest industries — these are just a few of the investments in the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan that will help Maine people and businesses recover from the economic shock of the pandemic and help our state address longstanding structural issues that have held us back.

Despite the three month delay in these investments, I am pleased that the Legislature, both Democrats and Republicans, agreed on the vast majority of the important measures in this bill and, like them, I am pleased to see it become law.

I will instruct my Administration to take all steps necessary to immediately advance its investments when it takes effect, in accordance with the intent of the Federal American Rescue Plan bill.

Additionally, my Administration will continue to review additions and changes made by the Legislature and compare them against the guidance and regulations of the U.S. Treasury Department to determine whether the various provisions of the bill will pass muster as an allowable use and whether they otherwise comport with State and Federal law.

But all in all, this is very good news for the people of the State of Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: The stakes are high. The implications are real.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills.

Earlier this week, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee of the Maine Legislature voted on legislation to implement the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.

This plan – modeled on the advice of experts and backed by a wide coalition of organizations and funded completely by the federal government’s American Rescue Plan – is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen our economy, expand broadband, broaden childcare and workforce training and address the longstanding structural problems that have held our state back in the past.

The bill also includes funding for housing; for water infrastructure projects; for renewable energy; for economic recovery grants for small businesses; for agricultural and seafood processing; for improvements to our parks and campgrounds; and for subsidies to lower health insurance costs for businesses and their employees, among many other things.

I am grateful for lawmakers’ work on this important bill, which incorporated many weeks of research and drafting by my Administration, to focus on the immediate need to rebuild our economy and improve the lives of working families after the financial shock of the pandemic.

Well sadly, at the time of this recording, although Republicans and Democrats agreed on more than 95 percent of the bill, the committee voted along party lines, which previews a similar partisan vote on the floor of the House and Senate.

But without a strong, bipartisan vote from 2/3 of the Legislature, this important bill loses its emergency nature and, as a result, would not take effect for ninety days, postponing the investment of millions of dollars in workforce training, health insurance subsidies, child care infrastructure and other critical needs.

This delay will have a substantial and serious negative effect on Maine’s working families and businesses, and on our economic recovery. Every day that this bill is not law is one more day that we are not putting these major investments to work for Maine people.

If we allow three more months to pass simply because the Legislature couldn’t find consensus, then that could mean the difference between a business surviving or a business failing, between a parent being able to afford child care so they can go back to work or not, between expanding broadband to rural communities or not. The stakes are high. The implications are real.

The Legislature has worked long and hard this session and has accomplished historic, bipartisan measures — a budget that includes 55 percent for education funding at last, a budget that restores full revenue sharing and improves health care and rewards working people with $300 payments. They have worked too long and too hard to succumb to partisan division on what may be the most consequential bill of our lifetimes.

The work of finding common ground, of negotiating divergent and strongly held viewpoints, of giving in on some priorities to achieve others is often painstaking and fraught with difficulty and disappointment because you know, nobody wins everything, and everybody loses a little something – but when both parties are acting in good faith, that’s exactly how good governance is done.

I am asking both Democrats and Republicans to continue working, to compromise, come to the middle, and to reach consensus so that this bill may reach my desk with 2/3 support and we can put its critical investments to work for Maine people today – not three months from now. Our state, our people, and our economy depend on immediate action.

So when you’re emailing or talking with you legislator, make sure they know how important it is to get a two thirds vote on the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan as soon as possible. They’re meeting Monday.  

Hey this is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: I am proud of this budget.

Every person in our state should be able to send their child to a good school, regardless of their zip code; they should be able to earn a good living and save for the future; go to the doctor or the dentist when they need to; drink clean water and breathe clean air; and live in a safe, affordable home.

Last week, joined by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, I was pleased to sign into law a balanced, bipartisan budget that charts that brighter future for all of Maine.

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

The budget I signed into law last week builds on the earlier baseline budget that I signed in March to maintain current services and provide some stability to Maine people during the pandemic.

This budget keeps our promise to Maine people to meet the State’s obligation to pay 55 percent of the cost of K-12 education for the first time in history.

Funding education will go to two places — your child’s classroom and your pocketbook — by helping hold down property taxes that pay for local education. We also increased direct tax relief for 83,000 low-income and middle-income people who were hard hit by the pandemic.

The budget also fully restores revenue sharing with municipalities to five percent, provides a $300 hazard payment to Maine workers, and replenishes the Land for Maine’s Future Program with its first new funding in more than a decade. 

The budget does not raise taxes and it sets money aside for emergencies by adding at least $60 million to the Budget Stabilization Fund, bringing the total of that fund to $328 million — an historic high. Under my Administration, the Budget Stabilization Fund has grown by more than $121 million.

The budget also funds preventative dental care for about 217,000 low-income Maine people.

It invests in Maine’s workforce training through Career and Technical Education Centers for the first time since 1997 and it provides a 3 percent baseline increase to the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System, and Maine Maritime Academy, which has helped hold tuition flat for Maine students at the UMaine System.

The budget also funds emergency rate increases for nursing homes and wage increases for direct care workers to support those hardworking professionals who care for our loved ones and, the budget funds our efforts to protect drinking water by cleaning up the so called “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.

The budget makes these critical investments in Maine people while living within our means.

In April, you know, the nonpartisan Revenue Forecasting Committee upgraded our revenue forecast, and it now exceeds the amount of revenue that had been forecasted prior to the beginning of the pandemic. 

This budget strengthens our state, it saves for a Rainy Day, and is still $660 million lower than the Revenue Forecasting Committee projected in revenue for the next biennium.

The budget is an historic investment in the people of Maine, in our future, and in our economic recovery.

The dawn of a new, brighter day — and a better future for our people and our state — is here.

As we turn the corner on the deadly pandemic, the State of Maine – under my Administration and the bipartisan leadership of this Legislature – has delivered on its longstanding promises to the people of our state. 

And I want to personally thank Representative Sawin Millett, Senator Paul Davis, Representative Teresa Pierce, and Senator Cathy Breen for leading the Appropriations Committee through these budget negotiations.

I am proud of their achievement and I am proud of this budget.

I am optimistic about the good it will accomplish for Maine people, and I am grateful to the Legislature who worked hard and in a bipartisan way to make this budget possible.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: I wish you all a very happy and healthy July 4th holiday.

This week, I announced the end of the State of Civil Emergency for Maine which I first declared back on March 15, 2020.

It is time. 

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

Well it’s not that we’ve cured a disease. Or that we’ve banned the virus completely or removed this pandemic forever from our lives, or that there aren’t still people getting sick and being hospitalized (especially those not vaccinated); And it’s not that we’ve thrown caution to the wind. Or that everything now is exactly as it was sixteen months ago.

A state of civil emergency is no longer necessary. It is over. And it is time.

Like other states, my Administration declared a State of Civil Emergency at the first sign of the pandemic back in March 2020, quickly rallying all resources we might find to protect Maine people from this dangerous virus. 

In the nearly sixteen months that have followed, we have implemented public health and safety measures, dialing them up and then scaling them down when circumstances and science demanded it. 

The adjustments we made to meet the challenges of a new and changing virus would not have been possible without the commitment of Maine people.

We asked you to stay home, we asked you to wear masks, to watch your distance, to avoid large gatherings. And you did.

We sought the full cooperation of the people of Maine. And we got it. You took this seriously, as well you should.

Because of the steps you took to protect yourselves, your loved ones, your communities, your fellow Mainers, we have maintained among the lowest rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths – and the highest rate of vaccinations – in the country. 

We’re now bragging that we’re the safest state in the nation.

As CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah put it the other day, “If you want to walk fast, then walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.” Well, we walked together, patiently, courageously. Dr. Shah concluded, “We faced the worst that nature had to offer and responded with the best that humanity could imagine.”

So the collective efforts of a people and their government have worked, but we have also learned that we cannot take our health or our progress for granted.

The pandemic is not over yet -- especially for those who remain unvaccinated. Nearly all of those hospitalized in Maine and suffering with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated.

I want to be clear -- the end of the State of Civil Emergency is not the end of the pandemic. My Administration and medical providers all over the state are encouraging everyone to get their shot -- it is the best way to protect our health and to protect the health of loved ones and our communities.

We still have some work to do -- some challenges that we have to tackle together, like building back a strong economy where all Maine people can succeed; like addressing the sharp increase in drug overdose deaths during the pandemic; and like getting all kids back in the classroom this fall. We can and we will do this together, just as we persevered thus far.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you have done to keep yourselves, your loved ones, and your fellow Mainers safe.

This weekend we all celebrate Independence Day, joining friends, neighbors and family for parades, music and fireworks.

Celebrating our precious freedoms after the long, difficult year we’ve had will be most welcome and most enjoyable. I wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday.

As always, it is my honor to serve as Governor of this great state.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: Maine people will persevere with a boundless belief in the promise and the potential of our state and in all of its people.

Not a week goes by but what I receive a sad letter from a mother or father or someone who’s overdosed on drugs. These are tragedies happening in our state every day.

This week, the Office of the Maine Attorney General released a very sad report. Its annual report of drug overdose fatalities. That report reveals that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses. The report showed that 504 deaths were caused by drugs in 2020, a 33% increase over the 380 the year before in 2019. 336 of those deaths were due to non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, a 30% increase in fentanyl deaths over 2019.

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

You know the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult in so many ways, but these terrible drug overdoses are yet another example of how the pandemic has hurt our state and hurt our people and taken lives. My heart breaks for every single life lost to drug overdose. Those who are lost are our friends, and neighbors, and loved ones and community members — people with lives that held meaning.

We can honor those lives and those communities by rededicating ourselves to ending the scourge of overdose deaths in our state, by preventing addiction in the first place, and by expanding access to treatment and recovery options.

This week I signed emergency legislation to establish an Accidental Drug Overdose Death Review Panel. The Panel will be charged with reviewing certain overdose deaths in order to dig deep and learn from those deaths and adjust our prevention policies when needed, with the goal of reducing more overdose deaths.

With this new panel, we can learn a great deal more about the root causes of addiction and we can adapt policies in an agile manner to meet this ever-changing threat, and save lives.

This is just the latest step we are taking to confront the opioid crisis in our state.

We also launched the OPTIONS program which places mobile response teams in each Maine county to promote drug prevention and harm reduction strategies, to connect people directly to recovery services and treatment, and to distribute more than 89,000 doses of naloxone, you know, the lifesaving overdose medication, that’s helped to reverse more than 2,200 reported opioid overdoses recently.

We have recruited and trained more than 530 recovery coaches and we’ve increased the number of Recovery Residences from 101 to 120, and the number of Recovery Community Centers from 9 to 13, with two others now planned for the towns of Lincoln and Ellsworth.

And we have proposed investing $30 million in the budget before the Legislature now to address the epidemic.

Healing our state from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic is a complicated challenge that will not happen overnight. There is no simple solution to saving lives lost to overdose, but prevention is paramount. If this last year has taught us anything it is this: that Maine people will persevere with a boundless belief in the promise and the potential of our state and in all of its people.

If you suffer from substance use disorder or have a family member who does, call 211, or visit the 211 website 211maine.org, or email info@211Maine.Org to get resources. We are ready to help.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.


 

Governor Mills: If your family needs a helping hand, please visit a Summer Food Service Program site near you.

Right now, one in five Maine children don’t know where their next meal is coming from. 

No child should ever go hungry.

Good morning, I am Governor Janet Mills, thank you for listening.

While our biennial budget helps feed more hungry children in schools by eliminating the reduced-price lunch category and including those kids in the free-lunch category, it can be hard for families to get to nutritious food when schools are out for the summer.

I want to tell you about the Summer Food Service Program, funded through the US Department of Agriculture. It’s available statewide in areas of need at sites like schools, nonprofit summer places, government agencies, faith-based organizations, churches that helps fill the gap with free, nutritious meals for children in Maine.

Some schools are keeping their doors open during the summer to continue to serve hot meals, while other people are packing a cooler and heading to the local playground, swimming pool or park to provide free meals for kids. 

Children can often take part in activities with their friends and family while eating a healthy meal that meets the USDA guidelines for nutrition.

Last year, more than 123 sponsors at 450 sites in every county in Maine served more than 727, 238 meals.

Anyone under the age of 18 can come to eat at no cost, no questions asked. 

To see if there are free meals for kids near you, check out usda.gov/summerfoodrocks 

You can also text “Summer Meals” to 97779 or call Maine 211. Meal serving dates and times are subject to change through the summer, so be sure to check the website often.

I hope that these summer months are filled with precious time with your family, friends and neighbors - not hunger.

If your family needs a helping hand, please visit a Summer Food Service Program site near you.

Not only will a child have access to a healthy, nutritionally balanced, free meal, you will also be supporting your local school and community organizations. 

I am Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Governor Mills: To all Maine veterans — thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

Monday, November 11th marks an important day in Maine and around the nation – it’s Veterans Day.

Good morning, I am Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

On this Veterans Day, as we do every day, we should recognize the men and women who faithfully served our state and nation in the Armed Forces. Let’s join together to thank them and their families for their sacrifice, their bravery, and their devotion to our country.

Today, our state can proudly say that we are home to more than 114,000 veterans – more than 11 percent of our adult population and one of the highest number of veterans per capita of any state in the nation. 

But when you consider Maine’s long and proud history of military service, that comes as no surprise.

During the Civil War, more than 2.8 million people served and more than 620,000 people gave, as Lincoln said, “the last full measure of devotion.” Many of those men came from Maine. Our state contributed a higher proportion of our citizens to the Union army than any other state in the nation.

One of my predecessors, General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, led the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and he is credited with saving the Union at Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg.

From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to World War I and World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan – Maine people have stood up to defend our nation and its ideals and our state has shouldered its responsibility to protect our country.

President Lincoln also understood the toll these wars have on people and their families, and he also knew that bringing an end to the war would not bring an end to our support for those who served.

“Let us strive on to finish the work we are in,” he said, “to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Today, we care for those who have borne the battle and honor what they fought for — so many rights which all are too fragile and too often taken for granted.

  • The right to disagree...the right to express an opinion, whether anyone listens or not.
  • The right to pray. Or not to pray.
  • The right to personal privacy. And in the fundamental decisions of life.
  • The right to ask for governmental assistance, and the right to be free of governmental intrusion.

Maine veterans teach all of us to cherish our rights, to remember those who gave their lives for these freedoms.

They teach us to remember that our sons and daughters still defend those rights on battlefields and potential battlefields a world away and in postings across the globe.

They teach us by their example the self-sufficiency they learned in combat preparation, and the strong sense of responsibility that comes from hard work and hard times. 

They teach us honor. They show us dignity. They teach us service.

That is why I have officially proclaimed this week – November 10th through November 16th – as Veterans Week. Please join with me in commemorating these heroic men and women who have served our state and our nation.

To all Maine veterans — thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart and thank you for your sacrifice and that of your families. To all those who have served and to those who continue to serve our country: our hearts are with you this Veterans Day, two thousand and nineteen.

I am Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

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