ICYMI: From the Bangor Waterfront, Senator Collins Discusses Health Care Reform, Opioid Crisis on MSNBC’s ‘Live With Hallie Jackson’
A transcript of the interview follows:
"Live With
JACKSON: Republican senator
COLLINS: Well, welcome to
JACKSON: I want to talk about what's going on in
You have watched this war play out for 16 years. Are you confident that the president can execute some kind of a successful strategy, if it means increasing the number of troops on the ground?
COLLINS: Well, we need to hear the strategy that the president is going to present tonight. I will say two things. And that is that in the past 16 years, our efforts in
JACKSON: So, if the president decides to stay the course, as he may do, is that enough for you?
COLLINS: I'm worried about that, because if you look at a map of
That's what we needed.
JACKSON: I know you will be watching that address tonight as well as people across
COLLINS: The president had an obligation, a moral obligation to speak with absolute clarity from the very beginning. And stick with that to denounce the neo-Nazis, the white supremacists, the anti-Semitism that we heard, and unfortunately he wavered back and forth. There are no good neo-Nazis.
JACKSON: What does that say to you about his leadership?
COLLINS: In this case, I think the president failed to meet the standard that we would have expected a president to do in a time like that. There should be no place for hatred, bigotry and racism in this country. And he should have said that very clearly. He did at times, but then he wavered back and forth.
JACKSON: Given your concerns about that, senator, at what point, though, given what we heard from your republican colleagues, does that talk turn into action? At what point, if any, do you not support his re-nomination?
COLLINS: Well, I didn't support the president when he was our party's nominee. That was a very difficult position for me to take. I'd never taken it before. Instead, I wrote in the name of
JACKSON: So what happens, he is already running for re-election, what is happening next?
COLLINS: It is too early to tell now. There is a long ways between now and that point.
JACKSON: Do you think he will end up the party's nominee in 2020?
COLLINS: It's too difficult to say.
JACKSON: Let me ask you about health care, because hat is something that was critical to the president on the campaign. You were one of the pivotal no votes on that. Let me ask you this, since there is still talk about this coming back up in the fall, is repeal and replace dead altogether?
COLLINS: Repeal without a replacement that is workable, that doesn't hurt vulnerable people, and destroy the ability to a health care in rural America,
I hope it's behind us. That does not mean that our job is done. There are serious problems with the Affordable Care Act. High premiums, the insurers fleeing the markets, so that even if you have a subsidy there is no policy that you can buy. And we're starting hearings in the
JACKSON: So, to help stabilize the individual markets. Is that enough? Is that going to be the accomplishment you can point to when we talk on the December break?
COLLINS: It's not enough. But it's an essential first step. I see a series of bills, where we address many of the problems that are associated with the ACA.
JACKSON: You have been trying to work to lower prescription drug pricing, for example, which is an example for a lot of folks here in
COLLINS: I really hope so. I am so offended by an investigation that I conducted with
JACKSON: Two more very quick questions for you. Are you satisfied with
COLLINS: I don't always agree with
JACKSON: You continue to back him as the leader of the
COLLINS: I do.
JACKSON: Opioid issues are, obviously, crucial here in
COLLINS: We need a three-prong approach, and we need to focus on prevention education and focus on treatment, and we need to focus on enforcement, we need to do all three. The most painful statistic in
JACKSON: It's a powerful statistic and one that is hard to hear. Before I let you go, there is obviously a lot of political discussion about your role, your future here in
COLLINS: I have not made a decision. On the one hand, a lot of seniority in the
JACKSON: Does the person in the
COLLINS: No, not really. I want to evaluate where I can do the best for the people of
JACKSON:
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