Susan Collins

Infobox Senator | name=Susan Collins


jr/sr=Junior Senator
state=Maine
party=Republican
alongside=Olympia Snowe
term_start=January 7, 1997
preceded=William Cohen
succeeded=
order2=Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
term_start2=January 3, 2003
term_end2=January 3, 2007
preceded2=Joe Lieberman
succeeded2=Joe Lieberman
date of birth=birth date and age|1952|12|7
place of birth=Caribou, Maine
dead=alive
occupation= business consultant
residence= Bangor, Maine
spouse=none
alma_mater=St. Lawrence University
religion=Roman Catholic

Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7 1952, in Caribou, Maine) is the junior U.S. Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. Collins is running for re-election in 2008.

Early life and career

Collins is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Lawrence University. She worked for Senator William Cohen from 1975 until 1987, when she became chair of the Maine commission on financial regulation. She served in this position until 1992, when she briefly served as New England regional director of the Small Business Administration. She was the Republican candidate in the Maine gubernatorial election of 1994, but both she and the Democratic candidate, former Governor Joe Brennan, were defeated by the Independent candidate, Angus King.

In 1996, when Senator William Cohen announced his retirement, Collins announced her Senate candidacy. After a difficult three-way primary, she defeated Democrat Joe Brennan in the general election with 49% of the vote to Brennan's 44%. She was reelected in 2002 over State Senator Chellie Pingree (D), 58%-42%.

enate career

She is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research. She is also a member of The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Choice, The Wish List, Republicans for Environmental Protection, and It's My Party Too. Her voting record is moderate, which puts her to the left of most Republicans in the Senate, and causing some Republicans to label her as a "Republican in Name Only," (RINO).

She supports John McCain in the 2008 election for President of the United States. [cite web |url=http://www.johnmccain.com/supporters/|title=McCain List of Supporters |publisher=http://johnmccain.com ]

Voting record

In the 1990s, Collins played an important role during the U.S. Senate's impeachment trial of Bill Clinton when she and fellow Maine Senator Olympia Snowe sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy. When the motion failed, both Snowe and Collins subsequently voted to acquit, believing that while Clinton had broken the law by committing perjury, the charges did not amount to grounds for removal from office.

Collins voted with the majority in favor of the Iraq War Resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to go to war against Iraq, on October 10, 2002. [cite web |url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=2&vote=00237 |title=Roll call for H.J.Res. 114 |publisher=United States Senate ] On September 19, 2007, she voted with the (filibuster-proof) minority against a bill restoring the right of habeas corpus. [cite web |url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00340 |title=Roll call for H.R. 1585/S.Amdt. 2022 |publisher=United States Senate ]

On October 21, 2003, with Senate Democrats, Collins was one of the three Republican Senators to oppose the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. She did however join the majority of Republicans in voting for Laci and Conner's Law to increase penalties for killing the unborn while committing a violent crime against the mother.

On May 23, 2005, Collins was one of fourteen moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus allowing the Republican leadership's attempt to control debate without having to exercise the so-called "nuclear option". Under the agreement the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and the three Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate.

Collins voted against the restrictions on travel to Cuba, harsher punishments for drug users, and amending the U.S. Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages. She has also joined the moderates in the Republican Party and a vast majority of Democrats in supporting campaign finance reform laws. In 2003 she was the only Republican to vote for limiting a tax cut in order to help rural hospitals.

Collins has voted against some free-trade agreements including CAFTA. In 1999 she was one of only four Republicans (along with her colleague Olympia Snowe) to vote for a Wellstone amendment to the Trade and Development Act of 2000 which would have conditioned trade benefits for Caribbean countries on "compliance with internationally recognized labor rights." This vote, joined only by Republicans Jim Jeffords and Arlen Specter, put her to the political left of many Democratic senators including 2008 presidential contenders John Edwards, Christopher Dodd, and Joseph Biden.

Collins coauthored, along with Senator Joe Lieberman, the Collins-Lieberman Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. This law implemented many of the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission modernizing and improving America's intelligence systems.

In October 2006, President Bush signed into law major port security legislation coauthored by Collins and Washington Senator Patty Murray. The new law includes major provisions to significantly strengthen security at U.S. ports.

Collins voted in favor of and for the extension of the Bush tax cuts. [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00165
title=On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 1836, as amended )
publisher=United States Senate
date=May 23, 2001] [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00196
title=On the Conference Report (H.R. 2 Conference Report )
publisher=United States Senate
date=May 23, 2003] [cite web
url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/109/senate/2/votes/229/
title=Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider H.R.5970; Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act of 2006
publisher=washingtonpost.com
date=August 3, 2006] She offered an amendment to the original bill that allowed for tax credits to school teachers who purchase classroom materials. [cite web
url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:SP00675:
title=S.AMDT.675 to H.R.1836
publisher=Library of Congress
date=5/17/2001 ]

Collins voted for the confirmation of two U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominees, Samuel Alito and John G. Roberts. [cite web
url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/109/senate/2/votes/2/
title=Confirmation Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice
publisher=washingtonpost.com
date=January 31, 2006] [cite web
url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/109/senate/1/votes/245/
title=Confirmation of John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States
publisher=washingtonpost.com
date=September 29, 2005]

Collins, joining the Senate majority, voted in favor of the Protect America Act, an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Additionally, she voted to deny congressional oversight of CIA spying programs. [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00256
title=S.Amdt. 5095 to S. 3930
publisher=United States Senate
accessdate=2008-07-28]

Siding with the majority, Collins voted for the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that stripped the right to a writ of habeus corpus and access to a lawyer for prisoners held by the U.S. government. [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00259
title=S. 3930 As Amended, A bill to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes.
publisher=United States Senate
date=September 28, 2006
accessdate=2008-07-28] She voted against an amendment to that bill that would have allowed defendents the right to habeus corpus. [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00255
title=Specter Amdt. No. 5087, To strike the provision regarding habeas review.
publisher=United States Senate
date=September 28, 2006
accessdate=2008-07-28]

In 2004, along a mainly party-line vote, Collins voted against an amendment to prohibit "profiteering and fraud relating to military action, relief, and reconstruction." [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00120
title=Leahy Amdt. No. 3292, To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit profiteering and fraud relating to military action, relief, and reconstruction.
publisher=United States Senate
date=June 16, 2004
accessdate=2008-07-28] She later sponsored the Accountability in Government Contracting Act of 2007, approved unanimously by the Senate, which would create more competition between military contractors. [cite web
url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-680
title=S. 680--110th Congress (2007): Accountability in Government Contracting Act of 2007
publisher=GovTrack.us
accessdate=2008-07-28]

Agreeing with the majority in both parties, Collins voted in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, [cite web
url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00349
title=Kyl Amdt. No. 3017 as Modified, To express the sense of the Senate regarding Iran.
publisher=United States Senate
date=September 26, 2007
accessdate=2008-07-28] which could give President Bush and the executive branch the authorization for military force against Iran. [cite web
url=http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/25/kyl-iran-fox/
title=Lieberman-Kyl Amendment Seeks To Escalate Possibility Of Military Action Against Iran
publisher=Think Progress
date=September 25th, 2007
accessdate=2008-07-28]

As ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Collins and committee chairman Senator Joe Lieberman voiced concerns about budget, outside contractors, privacy and civil liberties relating to the National Cyber Security Center, the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative and United States Department of Homeland Security plans to enhance Einstein, the program which protects federal networks. [cite web
author=Lieberman, Joe and Susan Collins
title=Lieberman and Collins Step Up Scrutiny of Cyber Security Initiative
url=http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=a32aba11-4443-4577-b9a5-3b2ea2c2f826&Month=5&Year=2008
date=May 2, 2008
publisher=U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
accessdate=2008-05-14] Citing improved security and the benefits of information sharing, as of mid-2008, Collins was satisfied with the response the committee received from Secretary Michael Chertoff. [cite news
author=Condon, Stephanie and Declan McCullagh
title=DHS stays mum on new 'Cyber Security' center
url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10004266-38.html
date=July 31, 2008
work=CNET News
publisher=CBS
accessdate=2008-09-02]

In September 2008, Collins joined the Gang of 20, a bipartisan group seeking a comprehensive energy reform bill. The group is pushing for a bill that would encourage state-by-state decisions on offshore drilling and authorize billions of dollars for conservation and alternative energy. [http://www.startribune.com/politics/28297749.html]

Committee membership

*Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Ranking Member)
**Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery (Ex Officio)
**Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration (Ex Officio)
**Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Ex Officio)
**Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security (Ex Officio)
**Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia (Ex Officio)
*Committee on Armed Services
**Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
**Subcommittee on Personnel
**Subcommittee on SeaPower
*Special Committee on Aging

2008 Re-election campaign

Collins is [http://www.politicalbase.com/index.php?obj=10&action=showPeopleState&year=2008&officeId=10&changed=&c1=32765&c2=36033&c3=0&c4=0 running for re-election] in 2008 and on May 8, 2007, Representative Tom Allen (District 1) filed papers to run against her. On the same day a poll was released by Critical Insights — an independent polling firm in Portland, Maine — which showed Collins was a strong early favorite. The poll of 600 likely voters showed Collins leading Allen statewide 57% to 30%, with 65% of the important independent vote.

With just nine weeks to election day on November 4th, according to a new Rasmussen poll Senator Collins leads Rep. Tom Allen by fifteen points, 53%-38%. Among independents, Senator Collins leads comfortably, 55%-32% and is viewed favorably by independents with a 67% approval rating among them. [http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/NEWS/80724033/-1/NEWS20]

Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has stated that he plans to campaign for Collins's re-election. Fact|date=July 2008

Electoral history

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Susan Collins (incumbent)
votes = 299,266
percentage = 58.4
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Chellie Pingree
votes = 205,901
percentage = 41.6
change =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Susan Collins
votes = 298,422
percentage = 49.2
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Joe Brennan
votes = 266,226
percentage = 43.9
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Green Party (US)
candidate = John Rensenbrink
votes = 23,441
percentage = 3.9
change =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Angus King
votes = 180,829
percentage = 35
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Joe Brennan
votes = 172,951
percentage = 34
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Susan Collins
votes = 117,990
percentage = 23
change =

References

External links

* [http://collins.senate.gov/ United States Senator Susan Collins] official Senate site
* [http://www.susancollins.com Susan Collins campaign website] official Campaign site
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/susan_collins/index.html New York Times — Susan Collins News] collected news and commentary
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Susan_Collins SourceWatch Congresspedia — Susan Collins] profile
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=156182012 Susan Collins My Space]
* [http://www.collins2008.com Collins2008.com]
* [http://www.politicalbase.com/people/susan-collins/2311/ Senator Susan Collins Political Base]

U.S. Senator box
state=Maine
class=2
before=William Cohen
start=1997
alongside=Olympia Snowe