KEVIN RAYE

Kevin Raye has the wrong priorities for average working Americans. In addition to being a strong supporter of the 2012 Maine state budget that cut Medicaid, prescription drug coverage for the elderly and Head Start, he has also said he wants to raise the Social Security retirement age. No stranger to Washington and special interests, Raye worked on a grassroots campaign for AdvaMed, an association of medical device manufacturers, while AdvaMed was lobbying against the Affordable Care Act.

MaineCare And Budget Cuts

Raye Praised Budget Cuts To MaineCare. According to the Kennebec Journal, Raye said he's sympathetic to the tea party's small-government bent. To defend his record, he ticks off a list of Republican legislative wins. We've passed the largest tax cut in the history of Maine. We have passed reforms to welfare. We have reined in an explosive and unsustainable MaineCare program and we've reduced state debt by $1.7 billion, he said. [Kennebec Journal, 6/8/12] The 2012 Maine State Budget Eliminated MaineCare Coverage For More Than 20,000 People. According to the Portland Press Herald, Despite pressure from groups that oppose cuts to MaineCare, Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate passed a revised state budget Tuesday that eliminates health care coverage for more than 20,000 people, cuts prescription drug coverage for senior citizens and reduces funding for Head Start. Supporters say the spending cuts are necessary to cover an $83 million deficit in the Department of Health and Human Services through June 30, 2013, and put the state on a more stable financial path. MaineCare is the state's Medicaid program. [Portland Press Herald, 5/16/12] The 2012 Maine State Budget Removed 1,500 Low-Income And Disabled People From The States Prescription Drug Program For Senior Citizens And Cut $2 Million From Head Start. According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, On votes sharply divided along party lines, the Legislature on Tuesday approved a bill that closes an $80 million budget shortfall in the state's Department of Health and Human ServicesThe measure as passed changes income eligibility for the state's low-income prescription drug program for senior citizens, which would remove about 1,500 low-income elderly and disabled people from the program. It also eliminates about $2 million in state funding for Head Start programs. [Lewiston Sun Journal, 5/15/12]

Raye Said The Budget Cuts Were Necessary Because Previous Legislatures And Governors Have Presided Over An Explosive, Irresponsible And Unaffordable Expansion Of MaineCare To Tens Of Thousands Of People Who Would Not Qualify For Medicaid Coverage In Other States. According to the Kennebec Journal, Republican leaders set the stage for the party-line vote by the Appropriations Committee by saying at a news conference Thursday morning that cuts to MaineCare are needed to bring Maine more in line with what other states spend. We are here because previous legislatures and governors have presided over an explosive, irresponsible and unaffordable expansion of MaineCare to tens of thousands of people who would not qualify for Medicaid coverage in other states, said Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry. [Kennebec Journal, 5/11/12]

AdvaMed
Raye Formed A Company Called Down East Strategies That Was Paid By AdvaMed, A National Organization Of Medical Equipment Manufacturers That Was Lobbying Against The Affordable Care Act. According to the Waterville Morning Sentinel, The Maine Democratic Party attacked Raye Thursday, noting that Raye has disclosed on state ethics commission disclosure forms that a strategic communication company he formed called Down East Strategies was paid in 2009 and 2010 by the Advanced Medical Technology Association, which represents medical equipment manufacturers. AdvaMed, as it is known, was lobbying in Washington at the time against the health care reform bill and a proposed tax on medical equipment. [Waterville Morning Sentinel, 1/6/12] Raye Said He Was Not A Lobbyist For AdvaMed; Worked On A Grassroots Campaign. According to the Waterville Morning Sentinel, Raye said Thursday that he did not speak to Maine members of Congress on behalf of AdvaMed, which he says means he was not a lobbyist for the association. He says he worked in 2009 on a grassroots campaign in Maine designed to inform local companies affected by the tax. [Waterville Morning Sentinel, 1/6/12] Raye Did Not Say How Much He Made Working For AdvaMed. According to the National Journal, According to Raye's 2009 and 2010 income disclosures, the Senate president ran a consulting service called Down East Strategies LLC. The disclosures did not indicate how much Raye was paid, nor are they required to. [National Journal, 1/5/12] The Maine Democratic Party Said He Should Disclose The Extent Of His Work And How Much He Was Paid; Raye Claimed He Met The Requirements Of The Ethics Disclosure Form. According to the Waterville Morning Sentinel, Maine Democrats said AdvaMed's members include companies such as Johnson & Johnson, which has had business before the Maine Legislature and lobbied lawmakers on a variety of bills, some of them sponsored by Raye. Raye should disclose how much he was paid by AdvaMed and the full scope of his work for the organizations, said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant in a prepared statement. Mainers deserve to know more about Kevin Raye's lobbying career. Raye said he met the requirements of the disclosure form, which requires only the source of income that represents more than $1,000 or 10 percent of a lawmaker's income, not the actual amount earned. [Waterville Morning Sentinel, 1/6/12]

Social Security Retirement Age

Raye Wanted To Increase The Retirement Age For Social Security. According to a Voice of the Voter Forum video, Raye was asked, What about Social Security? Do we do means testing? Raye responded, I think probably the most straightforward approach to Social Security would be to increase the retirement age for younger workers. We look at the fact that life expectancy is much longer than it was when Social Security was created, continues to grow, and that is one of the greatest drivers in terms of the costs in Social Security. And I think that would be a good, common-sense place to start. [WCSH 6, Voice of the Voter Forum, 2:15, 5/30/12]