Maine governor defends $8B budget proposal as 'pragmatic'

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine's Democratic governor rallied support Monday for her two-year, $8 billion budget proposal, which includes funding for Medicaid expansion that she deemed the "bargain of a century."

Gov. Janet Mills, buoyed by Democratic control of the House and Senate, told a joint session of the Legislature that it's time to move forward on her campaign promises to address health care access, the opioid crisis, climate change, education funding and economic development. Mills said critics will call her budget "government spending run amok," but she said her "pragmatic" budget contains no tax increase and could weather an economic downturn.

"We cannot afford to stand still," Mills said. "So this budget moves us forward.