Busy week in Washington

This was another very busy week in Washington. I spent a lot of time meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators seeking a way forward in Iraq. In addition, Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat from Nebraska, and I continued to talk with our colleagues about our amendment to the Defense Authorization that would require the President to transition the mission of our troops away from combat and instead focus on training and equipping of Iraqi security forces, protecting Iraq's borders, conducting counter-terrorism operations, and safeguarding Americans. This change in mission would allow for a more significant but responsible draw-down of our troops. I also had an interesting conversation with former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi about his six-point plan for Iraq. We discussed how we could foster the political reconciliation that is so vital to Iraq's future yet on which there has been so little progress.

There were several Iraq-related votes this week. I voted against a Feingold amendment that would have cut off funding for our troops and lead to a precipitous withdrawal. Virtually all experts warn that an abrupt withdrawal of our forces would plunge Iraq into chaos, cause massive bloodshed and ethnic cleansing, and allow Al Qaeda to set up a safe haven from which to plan attacks. I supported a Cornyn amendment condemning a newspaper ad sponsored by MoveOn.org that called General Petraeus a traitor. This resolution had strong, bipartisan support, but I was amazed that more than two dozen Democrats opposed it. How anyone could support an ad that impugns the integrity of a solider who has taken on the most difficult command possible at great personal sacrifice is beyond me.

Iraq was not the only focus of my week. In response to the President's threat to veto legislation extending the Children's Health Insurance Program known as SCHIP, I went to the Senate floor to urge the President to reconsider this ill-advised move and to talk about how successful this program has been in reducing the number of uninsured children in low-income families in Maine and across the nation. Some 14,500 low-income children in Maine participate in this highly effective program. The initial SCHIP legislation was one of the first bills I sponsored as a new Senator in 1997, and I am working hard to see that it does not expire on September 30th.

On another issue, I called the U.S. Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, to discuss the Canadians' violations of the Softwood Lumber Agreement. The Canadians' refusal to abide by the terms of the agreement is costing us jobs. I asked Ambassador Schwab to undertake tough enforcement actions to ensure that the Canadians play by the rules. We discussed various options, including binding arbitration and a proposed Certified Importer program that might help.

And, of course, my days were filled with many meetings with constituents including an educator from the University of Maine at Farmington, representatives from the Proctor & Gamble plant in Auburn, a woman who works at one of the State's Area Agencies on Aging, and countless other constituents, some here on business, others here seeing the sights.

Along with Senators Biden, Lugar, and Lieberman, I also received a top secret briefing this week, but I cannot tell you anything about that -- not even the subject!