Susan Collins takes credit for every ship built at BIW, but when the chips are down she’s AWOL.
BIW lost its last two contract bids, the $5.58 billion bid to build Navy frigates and the $936 million bid to build an Arleigh Burke destroyer.
President Trump intervened in the frigate bid, directing that it go to Fincantieri because the ships would be built in Wisconsin, a key battleground state. Did Sen. Collins object to this brazen political interference? Not a word, despite the contract’s importance to BIW and its thousands of hard-working Mainers.
Even worse, while the Arleigh Burke bid was pending, Sen. Collins was wined and dined at a fundraiser by Huntington Ingalls, the bid winner. Instead of fighting for BIW and Maine workers, she was taking money from BIW’s main competitor.
As a lifelong Mainer, I know Maine can do better than this deceitful behavior. It’s time for a change.
Wayne Whitney, Brunswick
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