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She supports [[John McCain]] for President of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnmccain.com/supporters/|title=McCain List of Supporters |publisher=http://johnmccain.com }}</ref>
She supports [[John McCain]] for President of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnmccain.com/supporters/|title=McCain List of Supporters |publisher=http://johnmccain.com }}</ref>


===Other Important Senate Votes===

Although branded as a moderate, Collins has voted with her party on many crucial votes.

She voted in favor of and for the extension of the so-called [[Bush tax cuts]], which gave the wealthiest 1% of wage earners large tax breaks.<ref>{{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
}}</ref><ref>{{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
}}</ref><ref>{{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
}}</ref> According to the [[Brookings Institution]], these tax cuts "would reduce federal revenues by almost $1.8 trillion over 10 years" and "would require monumental reductions in spending or increases in other taxes." <ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2004/0919useconomics_gale.aspx The Cost of Tax Cuts] by Peter R. Orszag, ‘’Brookings, Tax Policy Center’’, September 19, 2004</ref> Collins offered an amendment to the original bill that allowed for tax credits to school teachers who purchase classroom materials. <ref>{{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
}}</ref>

She voted for the nomination of two conservative [[U.S. Supreme Court]] Justices, [[Samuel Alito]] and [[John G. Roberts]]. <ref>{{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
}}</ref><ref>{{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
}}</ref> The more controversial, and mainly party-line vote for Alito, was opposed by the [[ACLU]], which stated "Alito's record shows a willingness to support government actions that abridge individual freedoms." <ref>[http://www.aclu.org/scotus/alito/ ACLU Opposes Nomination of Judge Alito] ‘’American Civil Liberties Union’’</ref> A number of Democrats opposed Alito's nomination because of his inconsistent stance on or previous opposition to [[abortion rights]]. <ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-24-alito-senate_x.htm Alito debate begins today in full Senate ] by Kathy Kiely, ‘’USA TODAY’’, 1/24/2006</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/11/alito/index.html Democrats grill Supreme Court nominee] by Bill Mears, ‘’CNN’’, January 12, 2006</ref> All Senate Republicans except moderate Republican [[Lincoln Chafee]] and former Republican-turned-independent [[Jim Jeffords]] voted in favor of Alito's nomination; four Senate Democrats also voted in favor.

Collins, joining the Senate majority, voted in favor of the so-called [[Protect America Act]], an amendment to the [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978]], about which "privacy advocates argue the bill jeopardizes the [[Fourth Amendment]] privacy rights and allows for the warrantless monitoring of virtually any form of communication originating in the United States." <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/1/votes/309/
|title=S.1927 as Amended; A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide additional procedures for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence information and for other purposes.
|publisher=washingtonpost.com
|accessdate=2008-07-28
}}</ref> Additionally, she voted to deny congressional oversight of [[CIA]] spying programs. <ref>{{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
}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{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
}}</ref> Additionally, she voted against an amendment to the bill that would have allowed defendents the right to habeus corpus. <ref>{{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
}}</ref> On [[June 12]], [[2008]], the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled 5-4 in [[Boumediene v. Bush]] that detainees have the right to seek a writ of habeas corpus in US Federal Court. <ref>{{cite web
|url=http://supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-1195.pdf
|title=Boumediene et al. v. Bush, President of the United States, et al.
|publisher=Supreme Court of the United States
|date=2008-06-12
|accessdate=2008-07-28
}}</ref>

In 2004, along a mainly party-line vote, Collins voted against an amendment to hold military contractors accountable, prohibiting "profiteering and fraud relating to military action, relief, and reconstruction." <ref>{{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
}}</ref> She later sponsored the [[Accountability in Government Contracting Act of 2007]], approved unanimously by the Senate, which would create more competition between military contractors.<ref>{{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
}}</ref>

Agreeing with the majority in both parties, Collins voted in favor of the so-called [[Kyl-Lieberman amendment]],<ref>{{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
}}</ref> which could give [[President Bush]] and the [[executive branch]] the authorization for military force against [[Iran]].<ref>{{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
}}</ref> Senator [[Jim Webb]] noted on the Senate floor that "this proposal is [[Dick Cheney]]’s fondest pipe dream," and "it could be read as a back door method of gaining congressional validation for action without one hearing or without serious debate."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=286157
|title=Floor Statement of Senator Jim Webb on the Kyl-Lieberman Iran Amendment
|publisher=webb.senate.gov
|date=September 25, 2007
|accessdate=2008-07-28
}}</ref>


===Committee membership===
===Committee membership===

Revision as of 16:05, 30 July 2008

For the artist, see Susan Alexis Collins.

Template:Future election candidate

Susan Collins
Republican nominee for
U.S. Senator from Maine
OpponentTom Allen
IncumbentSusan Collins
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
Spousenone
Alma materSt. Lawrence University

Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7 1952, in Caribou, Maine) is the junior U.S. Senator from Maine and a centrist Republican. Collins is up 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 National 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%.

Senate career

Senator Collins is often labeled as more bipartisan than most senators, thus causing some Republicans to label her as a "Republican in Name Only," (RINO). Her voting record is moderate, which puts her to the left of most Republicans in the Senate. 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.[1] On September 19, 2007, she voted with the minority (that was nevertheless large enough to block via filibuster) against a bill restoring the right of habeas corpus; her colleague Olympia Snowe voted in favor of the measure.[2]

On October 21, 2003, Collins was one of the three Republican Senators to oppose the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and voted with the Senate Democrats. The bill was passed 64-34 and became law on November 5, 2003. 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.

With fellow Maine Senator Olympia Snowe

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.

Senator 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 the tax cut in order to help rural hospitals. Collins has also 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.

Senator 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 Senator Collins and Washington Senator Patty Murray. The new law includes major provisions to significantly strengthen security at U.S. ports.

Senator Collins 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.

She supports John McCain for President of the United States.[3]


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

Main article: Maine United States Senate election, 2008

Collins is 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.

Just 15 weeks before Election Day, the latest poll released by Critical Insights shows Collins still leading Allen by 14 percentage points among registered voters. This same poll shows 60 percent of independents favor Collins, while 25 percent of Democrats also say they support Collins. [1]

Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has stated that he plans to campaign for Collins's re-election. [citation needed]

Electoral history

Maine U.S. Senate Election 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Susan Collins (incumbent) 299,266 58.4
Democratic Chellie Pingree 205,901 41.6
Maine U.S. Senate Election 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Susan Collins 298,422 49.2
Democratic Joe Brennan 266,226 43.9
Green John Rensenbrink 23,441 3.9
Maine Gubernatorial Election 1994
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Angus King 180,829 35
Democratic Joe Brennan 172,951 34
Republican Susan Collins 117,990 23

References

  1. ^ "Roll call for H.J.Res. 114". United States Senate.
  2. ^ "Roll call for H.R. 1585/S.Amdt. 2022". United States Senate.
  3. ^ "McCain List of Supporters". http://johnmccain.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from Maine
1997–present
Served alongside: Olympia Snowe 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee
2003 – 2007 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Susan_Collins&oldid=228831550"