Congressman Mike Michaud this week supported an extension of the payroll tax cut, but opposed a House bill because of unrelated provisions that would have been harmful to Maine. Michaud claimed that one section of the bill would have slashed unemployment benefits for more than one million Americans, including 12,586 in Maine. Additionally, he said that another section of the bill would have reduced Medicare reimbursements to Maine health care providers, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

• "This end of the year politicking over must-pass bills is just the latest example of why Americans have such a low opinion of Washington these days. I support a number of things in this bill. But instead of working together to pass a bipartisan bill, House leaders brought up a package they knew would be rejected by the Senate and vetoed by the president. In addition, it contains a number of harmful provisions for Maine. The bill would take an ax to unemployment benefits for thousands of Mainers next year while at the same time slashing Medicare reimbursements for our state’s hospitals and nursing homes. It’s time to stop the politics and get this tax cut done. I’m hopeful the Senate can send us back a more balanced, bipartisan approach." - Rep Michaud
  

Congressman Mike Michaud opposed the passage of H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.

Michaud supported provisions in the bill that authorized funding for shipbuilding in Maine and the 6 year reauthorization of the job creating Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. However he claimed that the bill authorized additional funding for Iraq and Afghanistan, something to which he has been long opposed. He claimed that it amends policies on detention without explicit protections for U.S. citizens and that FBI Director Robert Mueller remains concerned about the detainee provisions in the final conference report. The bill also expands the authorization for the use of military force that could pave the way for the president to commit U.S. forces without the appropriate consent of Congress.

• "Among other concerns, I opposed this bill because I believe that we must end our war commitments instead of opening the door for expanded military force without congressional consent. I also have serious concerns about this bill’s disregard for the due process rights of American citizens." - Rep Michaud