www.fund.org - Citing her as one of the top animal protection advocates in the U.S. Senate, the Humane Society Legislative Fund announced that it has endorsed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for reelection...Read more >>

KeepMEcurrent.com - Noella Joncas has done everything she can think of to make her Lamothe Avenue home in Biddeford more energy efficient. She has replaced all her windows, given her oil furnace a tune up and plans to keep the thermostat down this winter...Read more >>

Seacoastonline.com - U.S. Senator Susan Collins was recently presented with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners "Legislator of the Year Award" by 18 Maine nurse practitioners, who traveled to Washington D.C. for the event. Sen. Collins received the award for her continued support of nurses and their patients...Read more >>

Seacoastonline.com - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is joining Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., in moving bipartisan legislation to protect financially distressed homeowners — often seniors — from unscrupulous financial predators...Read more >>

Associated Press - A bipartisan group of senators from cold-weather states on Thursday criticized plans to cut the federal program helping low-income families make their homes more energy efficient...Read more >>

South Portland Sentry - I recently learned that Sen. Susan Collins has received a 100 percent rating from the National Federation of Independent Business. Collins has also received a perfect score from the League of Conservation Voters, an organization which advocates for sound environmental policies. Add to this the fact that Collins has a perfect voting record. She has never missed a single roll call vote in her almost 12 years of service in the U.S. Senate...Read more >>

Foster's Daily Democrat - Elections are more than three months away, but Susan Collins is positioned well to win a third term in the U.S. Senate. Collins, first elected to the Senate by Maine voters in 1996, has showed up 14 percentage points ahead of Democrat Tom Allen, currently a U.S. Representative from the state's First Congressional District. The poll was conducted by the Portland-based firm Critical Insights between June 1 and 27...Read more >>

"On behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), I would like to thank you for your ongoing and consistent leadership in funding type 1 diabetes research. We appreciate your guidance throughout this succesful reauthorization process for the Special Diabetes Program as well as your vote in support of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (H.R.6331). Now with the two-year renewal of the Special Diabetes Program included in the bill, we not only have avoided a 35 percent cut in federal funding for type 1 diabetes research but scientists across the nation can continue their research efforts for a three-year cycle. JDRF is pleased and grateful that, with your leadership and that of the Diabetes Caucus which yo co-chair, Congress has made the future of this program a priority."

Boston Globe - Sen. Susan Collins says the federal government has delayed a requirement that lobstermen change the type of rope they're using. She said the National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to delay until April 2009 a requirement that lobstermen using sinking rope to prevent whale entanglements. The requirement had been scheduled to go into effect this October, which is typically the peak of the lobster season...Read more >>

Boston Globe - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Thursday proposed an economic recovery bill that's aimed at easing the effects of runaway energy prices and a downturn in the housing market.
The Maine Republican's wide-ranging bill calls for expanded funding for weatherization and tax credits for other energy-saving programs, and $50 billion in bonds for roads, bridges and other transportation projects...Read more >>

Boston Globe - Katahdin Paper Co. officials are figuring out how much time and money it would take to install a biomass boiler to provide fuel for its paper mill in an effort to lessen its reliance on oil and keep the facility open. The company announced in late May that it was closing its Millinocket mill because of record oil prices, putting about 208 people out of work...Read more >>

Seacoastonline.com - U.S. Senator Susan Collins today was presented with a Leadership Award from Bread for the World. Senator Collins received the award for her work on issues aimed at hunger and poverty. The award was presented by David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World and Derrick Boykin, New England Regional Organizer of Bread for the World...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News - When time came Monday morning to talk about the specifics of America’s policies overseas, Sen. Susan Collins started off on an issue she has mentioned before and is likely to mention again in the months leading up to the Senate election this fall: bipartisanship...Read more >>

Fox Business - Heralded as the first bipartisan effort to change our Iraq policy, a provision authored by Senators Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh and Susan Collins has come one step further to transferring financial responsibility for reconstruction and some operations costs from the U.S. taxpayer to the Iraqi Government. The provision was included in the Senate Appropriations Iraq War Supplemental markup today...Read more >>

Village Soup - The life of Karen Stram of Dresden changed dramatically a decade ago when her husband, Bob, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Since that initial devastating diagnosis, Karen has become an outspoken advocate for expanded funding and research to assist her husband and the millions of Americans and their families who live with this terrible disease...Read more >>

KeepMECurrent.com - The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved the fiscal year 2009 Defense Authorization bill, which includes key provisions authored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins that support the work being done at Bath Iron Works, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the University of Maine, Saco Defense, Pratt & Whitney and other Maine companies...Read more >>

Glouster Daily Times - The U.S. senators from Maine and Massachusetts have urged the federal government to put off ordering any new groundfishing restrictions for next year until a required comprehensive stock assessment can be published and reviewed...Read more >>

Portland Press Herald - The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Wells, Maine, has been awarded $585,000 by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant, announced by Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, will be used for general and administrative purposes, research, monitoring, education, training and natural resource stewardship...Read more >>

Magic City Morning Star - The soaring costs of gasoline, home heating oil, and diesel are creating tremendous hardships for American families, truckers, and small businesses. To fully explore all causes of the rapidly increasing prices, U.S. Senator Susan Collins joined with a bipartisan group of senators requesting the President establish a task force to investigate corruption and manipulation in the energy markets...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Aging has approved a $30,290 grant for the state of Maine to assist in addressing the needs of senior citizens affected by the recent flooding, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a press release...Read more >>

Small Business Times - A bipartisan proposal to take a state-based pilot program approach to health care reform is gaining momentum in Washington, D.C. The State-Based Health Care Reform Act is authored by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The proposal gained the support today of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News- The farm bill contains massive, wasteful taxpayer subsidies for large agribusinesses in the Midwest and South at the expense of family farms in the Northeast." She added that, while she supported increased funding for food stamps and other nutrition and conservation provisions, as well as increased federal oversight to prevent manipulation of electronic energy markets, "as a whole, this farm bill represents wasteful spending and the wrong priorities."...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News - Maine’s two U.S. senators are proposing a two-year pilot program that would allow trucks carrying up to 100,000 pounds to travel on federal highways whenever diesel prices are $3.50 a gallon or more...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News- The White House announced Friday that the pontiff would not attend the dinner that had been planned in his honor. Instead, he will dine at the Italian Embassy. Maine’s junior Republican senator was invited to that dinner to be held Wednesday. She was allowed to invite one guest. Collins asked Sister Mary Norberta, president of St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, to accompany her... Read more >>

Bangor Daily News - "I thought the pope’s message was inspiring and filled with hope," Collins, a Roman Catholic, said after the ceremony. "He is bringing a message of hope and healing to our country and has the opportunity to inspire and strengthen America’s Catholics. His approach seems to be very warm and welcoming and invitational to encourage a stronger faith that I believe will be well received by Catholics and all Americans."...Read more >>

AP - Maine Sen. Susan Collins says she and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein have introduced a resolution to designate May 16 as the third annual Endangered Species Day.
The resolution is designed to draw awareness to threats to endangered wildlife, fish and plants, and to what can be done to help them.The resolution is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of eight other senators, including Maine's Olympia Snowe....Read more >>

Bangor Daily News- "It is painfully clear that the price of gasoline, home heating oil, and diesel are creating tremendous hardships for these truckers and their families," said Collins, who has called on the Department of Energy to suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until prices drop and for the U.S. to establish a goal of energy independence by the year 2020. "We need a dramatic change in our energy policy to protect ourselves from rapid increases in oil prices without sacrificing our environment for future generations." ...Read more >>

Bangor Daily News - Mar. 3--FORT KENT -- Light snow Saturday morning did not deter fans for the start of the 16th running of the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races at Fort Kent where crowds were estimated to be the largest ever.
Hundreds lined the Main Street chute when the first mushers headed out of the starting gate at 8 a.m. for the Willard Jalbert Jr. Can-Am 60-mile race...Watch Slideshow >>

Bangor Daily News - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins gave Health Access Network a ceremonial $5.1 million check on Wednesday, representing key funding to the health care provider’s plans to expand and consolidate its six town sites into one state-of-the-art facility... read more >>

Bangor Daily News - Bangor resident, troop greeter and former state representative Catherine "Kay" Lebowitz received a welcome surprise when the [Bangor Region] Chamber's Public Service Award was renamed in her honor. The Catherine Lebowitz Award for Public Service was given to U.S. Senator Susan Collins. Husson President Bill Beardsley gave a humorous and detailed account of Collins' private service efforts, including playing a character named "Super Sue" on stage in grade school. Watch video >>

Bangor Daily News- All members of the American armed forces will soon have their brain functions tested and recorded before and after deploying to a war zone, courtesy of federal legislation co-written by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Hillary Clinton of New York. The testing is seen as an important step toward recognizing and treating traumatic brain injury, or TBI, widely considered the "signature injury" of the war in Iraq and, increasingly, in Afghanistan as well....Read more >>

Seacoast Online - In response to a request from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Office of Management and Budget today agreed to release $450 million from its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) contingency fund. Of that, Maine is expected to receive $8.8 million to help low income and elderly families who are struggling with record home heating oil prices... read more >>

VillageSoup - The League of Conservation Voters, an independent group devoted to environmentally sound public policy, has announced that Sen. Susan Collins has received a perfect score of 100 percent on LCV-monitored votes in the U.S. Senate over the past year...Read more >>

WMTW - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said her unbroken voting streak extended during this session to 3,679 roll call votes.The Maine Republican said she has been present for every roll-call vote in the Senate since she was sworn into office in January 1997. Collins said she's long been inspired by former Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, who never missed a vote in 13 years before surgery forced her to miss one...read more >>

Lewiston Sun Journal - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it has awarded $869,626 in grants to nine Maine fire departments. The money is provided through the "Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program," a news release from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, D-Maine, stated..."The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is an extremely critical source of funds for Maine's fire and rescue personnel," Collins said in a prepared statement. "This grant will help provide our critical first responders with the equipment and training that they need to better serve their communities."...read more >>>

WLOB- Video:Senator Collins on WLOB's Fox Morning News, discussing Pakistan, the presidential race, and New Year's resolutions.

keepMEcurrent.com- During a brief ceremony Friday morning at the Biddeford office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, 83-year-old WWII veteran Rene Gobeil recalled his days on the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge, which raged for almost six weeks in the winter of 1944 and 1945.At the ceremony Collins presented Gobeil, a resident of Biddeford, with eight medals, ranging from the Purple Heart to a WW II Victory medal. The medals were replacements for ones that Gobeil lost years ago after the death of his father...read more >>

Foster's Daily Democrat - While much of the nation is focused on presidential primary politics, the work of some members of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations should not go unnoticed.Of special note last week was the successful effort led by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to delay implementation of onerous border-crossing requirements...read more >>

WCSH - A small company in Boothbay is giving it's latest technology to the U.S. Navy. Hodgdon Yachts launched a prototype of a new, high-tech speed boat for the Navy Seals Friday.
Senator Susan Collins cracked the champagne bottle on the "Mako." The 82-foot assault boat is the first Navy vessel ever built out of carbon fiber.
Hodgdon and the University of Maine have been working for four years designing and building the boat. They had to prove that composite materials can be strong enough for combat vessels.

Cnn.com - Several GOP senators backed the proposal to extend unemployment payments for 13 weeks for those whose benefits have run out, with 26 more weeks available in states with jobless rates higher than 6 percent. Some also have asked for more business tax breaks.
"Many of these additions have bipartisan support, and I hope that the president will recognize that the White House needs to negotiate with the Senate as well as the House," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who backs both the rebates for seniors and the unemployment extension.
... read more >>

Maine News Direct - "We are pleased to have Senator Collins as a co-sponsor of this bill," added Jon Bartholomew of Common Cause Maine. "Maine has a tradition of leadership on campaign finance reform, and we look forward to working with Senator Collins on this next step forward to restore power to the public." ..read more >>

PolitickerME.com - “Current estimates are that the 2008 contest for the presidency of the United States will cost more than one billion dollars. As a result of these skyrocketing costs, candidates are going to be spending more time holding exclusive, high-dollar fund-raisers than meeting the voters and discussing the issues,” Collins said in a statement. “Clearly, the system is flawed.” ...read more >>

Bangor Daily News - As I travel throughout Maine, time and time again people ask me what should be done about the high cost of energy which is causing an almost unprecedented burden on families in Maine. To address this issue, we must first understand the magnitude of this serious problem.
The spike in energy costs is due to many causes: increased global demand for crude oil, instability that threatens supplies from the Middle East, the price-fixing actions of OPEC, insufficient refining capacity, and speculative trading on futures markets. Paramount among our challenges is our over-reliance on foreign oil, which threatens both our economic and national security... read more >>

WCSH -The budget bill provides more funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Senator Susan Collins says Maine's share is expected to be in the range of 10 million to 20 million dollars, which will help offset the rise in heating oil prices....read more >>

Kennebec Journal - The 2008 election comes at a critical time in the history of the United States and the world. I strongly endorse Susan Collins for U.S. Senate because I believe she is the candidate best able to address the profound challenges we face as a country. I trust her integrity and independent voice, moving outside the partisan politics of the current Congress...read more >>

Kennebec Journal - ...one of the most important things we can do to help hungry people right now is to weigh in with our senators to urge broad reform of the farm bill. However, when we call Sen. Susan Collins' office, we also should be thanking her for her leadership in being a co-sponsor of the FRESH amendment, the only comprehensive reform amendment currently on the table....read more >>

Lewiston Sun Journal - "Much-needed increases in food and nutrition programs for our nation's low-income families should not, however, be tied to the billions of dollars in agriculture subsidies," says Sen. Susan Collins, who laudably voted against the farm bill, while co-sponsoring an amendment to cut farming subsidies....read more >>

Kennebec Journal - I'm a Republican because after Sept. 11, 2001, I want to make sure our country is safe from those who seek to do us harm.
Sen. Susan Collins, for example, has authored significant pieces of legislation that have been signed into law, making our nation stronger. The net result has been the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, important port security legislation, and significant security improvements at our chemical facilities. ...read more >>

Bangor Daily News - "This contract is a positive step forward in efforts to complete and make fully operational a third bridge in Calais," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a prepared statement. "I have long supported the third Calais bridge because it is crucial to help ease congestion at the border crossing and improve traffic flow." ...read more >>>

Senator Susan Collins spoke with WABI-TV about the Bombing Prevention Act

WCSH6.com -The Sacopee Valley Middle School, which serves Hiram, Baldwin, Cornish, Parsonsfield and Porter, opened this September. On Sunday, students got to show the community, including Senator Susan Collins, around....read more >>

Southwest Nebraska News - Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine have offered a bipartisan proposal that would fully fund the troops and transition the mission in Iraq away from policing the civil war to focus on our national security priorities such as fighting Al Qaeda, protecting American assets and personnel and securing Iraq’s border integrity...read more >>

MSNBC- Agency spent more on trailers than it would have cost to buy new houses: "What you see throughout this report is an utter disregard for how much was being paid," says Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) who asked the GAO to investigate trailer-maintenance costs... read more >>

The Hill - Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) wrote to Department of Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff asking for details on the DHS’s steps to implement the recommendations that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlined in a report criticizing the nation’s traveler inspection system.
The report found that there are still vulnerabilities in U.S. Customs and Border Protection travel inspection procedures that leave the country exposed.
“We must meet our obligation to the American people to prevent dangerous goods and people from entering the country,” the letter stated.... read more >>

Sacramento Bee - The legislation is likely to be vetoed by President Bush and may fall short of the votes needed to override the veto. Yet, the bill has some bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. "There is growing support in the Senate for strengthening federal laws to protect American workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. Collins said she will be a co-sponsor when the bill is introduced in the Senate.... read more >>

Portland Press Herald - Sen. Susan Collins today was honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award for Maritime and Supply Chain Security during the U.S. Maritime Security Conference in New York City...Collins received the award in front of an audience of about 600 international government and industry leaders of the maritime and shipping community. The award is sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration; the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; and the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey....read more>>

Bangor Daily News - President Bush vetoed the state children’s health insurance bill Wednesday morning, only the fourth veto of his presidency... Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the veto "a tremendous mistake."
"This is a program that has been cost-effective and has had a significant impact in reducing the number of uninsured children, not only in Maine but across the nation," Collins said in an interview. "At this point, I hope that the president will be finally willing to change his mind if there are a few — and I hope they are minor — changes in the bill. But of all the bills to veto, I think the president really made a mistake on this one."..read more >>

Bangor Daily News - AUGUSTA, Maine — Securing an advantage, Republican Sen. Susan Collins reported Monday she raised more than $1 million for her re-election campaign from July through September, bringing her total contributions to date to $3.6 million, with $3.1 million in cash on hand...The Collins organization issued a statement expressing satisfaction with her fundraising performance "this early in the election cycle" and said the campaign was "on track to have the resources we will need to run a good campaign."..read more >>

Roll Call - Cold, hard cash may be the salvation for some of the Republicans’ most vulnerable Senate incumbents next year — and could thwart the Democrats’ hopes for building a working majority in the 111th Congress. All four of the Senate Republicans whom Democrats are targeting most heavily in 2008 closed September with a substantial lead in cash on hand over their likely Democratic challengers. The next tier of Democratic targets had even larger financial cushions....In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins (R) collected more than $1 million in the quarter and finished with $3.1 million on hand — about $1 million more than Rep. Tom Allen (D), who raised about $666,000...read more >>

WLBZ/WCSH - Home health care benefits for the elderly could be cut from the Medicare program -- under a proposal by the Bush administration. And this week, Maine Senator Susan Collins introduced legislation to block those cuts. The president wants to cut 6-billion dollars from home health spending over the next five years...Senator Collins and other sponsors of the bill say keeping people at home and out of institutional care saves the Medicare program millions of dollars each year...View video >>

Senator Susan Collins was on Fox News on 10/25/07, discussing concerns about the Terror Watch List and homeland security.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials have provided conflicting accounts for why a Mexican man with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was able to cross the border into the U.S. multiple times this spring, two senators said Wednesday...
"I have absolutely no confidence that we have gotten all of the facts yet, nor that DHS has a good handle on how this could occur," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in an interview.
"That sounds significant alarm bells in terms of our confidence that this system can help us detect and disrupt the travel of those who would do us harm deliberately." ...read more >>

WWAY TV 3 - "Maine Sen. Susan Collins said, "I think we went through many months where the Department of Justice was essentially paralyzed where many good people left the department -- and now it's time to have a strong new leader and rebuild."))" ...Read more >>

Portland Press Herald - Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are among a growing number of Republican senators who say the administration’s approach, even with a surge of 30,000 troops, has failed to achieve the political progress they say is necessary for stability in Iraq. They support refocusing the U.S. effort on fighting terrorism in Iraq, protecting it’s borders and training the Iraqi military.. ..read more >>

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) today applauded the U.S. Senate for approving Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Susan Collins' (R-ME) whistleblower protection amendment for employees of Department of Defense (DoD) contractors (S.Amdt. 2617). The Senate approved the McCaskill-Collins measure by unanimous consent agreement on Monday, September 17, as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2008, H.R. 1585, which authorizes nearly a half-trillion dollars for Defense Department programs. The Senate has numerous additional amendments to consider before final passage...read more >>

Associated Press -Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine are asking the Bush administration to release $151 million that remains in a fund for heating assistance for low-income families.
They say $131 million will expire on September 30th. Rather than let that happen, they proposed releasing the remaining money to let people top off their heating oil tanks before cold weather sets in and oil prices rise...read more >>

Times Record - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced today that the Navy will award Bath Iron Works with the contract to build the first DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer.
The Zumwalts are the next-generation destroyer that will eventually replace the Arleigh Burke destroyers currently being built in Bath. BIW will share construction of the warships with Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss., but until now it has been unknown which yard would build the first ship...read more >>

Senator Susan Collins is a leader in improving federal government, from reforming the intelligence community to leading an inquiry into the government response to Hurricane Katrina. Her work was recognized May 24, 2007 with the Partnership for Public Service Leadership Award... View video>>

Medical News Today :The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) praised U.S. Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) for introducing comprehensive, bipartisan legislation late yesterday that is designed to help sustain quality improvement gains in long term care settings across the country....read more >>

Federal Times: Federal retirees would be able to return to work on a limited basis without having their pay reduced under a bill introduced Aug. 3 by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Agencies are already allowed to bring retirees back to do jobs such as mentoring and training younger workers or to finish projects. But under a so-called dual compensation restriction, most returning retirees’ salaries — with a few exceptions for hard-to-fill jobs — are now reduced by the amount of their annuities...read more >>>

Accuracy in Media - "Additionally, Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) requested an investigation into the loss of immigration files at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is the division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that adjudicates applications filed by aliens to accord them a wide variety of immigration benefits – including the conferring of resident alien status and United States citizenship. The senators had received information that UCIS lost some 111,000 files, including 30,000 files of aliens seeking to naturalize."... Read more >>