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Not thinking anyone is surprised about This but CNN is reporting that: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, became the second Republican senator not involved in negotiating a bipartisan background check measure to say she will support it, according to a statement Sunday. She described the bill as a responsible compromise between two senators - Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia - who have strong ratings from the National Rifle Association. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, has indicated his support for the deal.

The Republican plan to block debate on Senate Bill 649, which requires background checks on almost all gun purchases and transfers, failed spectacularly Thursday morning when sixteen Republican Senators joined almost all of the Democrats to vote in favor opening debate on the bill. Among those voting to defeat the filibuster were 9 Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, and 12 A-rated Republicans (out of 16 Republican “ayes”). Two Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), joined the majority of Republican Senators who tried to prevent debate, much less a vote, on the bill....

I might need a ruling from the rest of the Hot Air team as to whether this counts as an SSM endorsement for purposes of the pool. Granted, granted, she never says outright that she supports legalizing gay marriage, but there's not a whiff of reluctance about the idea in the course of two paragraphs. Read it and ask yourself: Does this sound like someone who opposes SSM? Or is this statement what it looks like, i.e. a pure dodge aimed at placating Maine moderates by trumpeting gay rights on the one hand while pandering to Republican primary voters by...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will introduce legislation that would allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their same-sex partner for legal residency in the country. Collins is the first Republican supporter of the bill, which Leahy has introduced in each Congress since 2003. She said it would help keep same-sex families together by giving them the opportunity to live in the United States legally. “More than two dozen countries recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes,” said Collins in a statement. “This important civil rights legislation would help prevent committed, loving families from being forced...

By MANU RAJU 11/13/12 11:23 AM EST It is "absolutely imperative" that Gen. David Petraeus testify about what went wrong in Libya, even as he reels from his sex scandal roiling the intelligence community, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said Tuesday. "I will say that I think it's absolutely imperative that Gen. Petraeus come and testify," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee's ranking member, told reporters. "He was CIA director at the time of attack. He visited Libya at the time of attack. He has a great deal of information that we need...

Reuters) - U.S. authorities are investigating possible collusion between militants who launched a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and locally hired Libyan personnel guarding the facility, three U.S. officials said. So far there is no proof that the attackers, who killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials, were helped by Libyan security personnel hired by the consulate. One official said the Obama administration was playing down this possibility.However, all the officials said that the question of whether the attackers had inside help or advice was a serious issue in the U.S. investigation into...

More than 30 Republican senators — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — will host a fundraiser in Washington on Monday for Josh Mandel, Ohio's state treasurer and the Republican nominee challenging Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Ohio's other senator, Republican Rob Portman, will headline the reception, which is being held at the headquarters at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) is also expected to attend, as are Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Mike Lee (Utah). Tickets to attend start at $500 and go up to...

The women Secret Service and military crew took to a Colombian hotel before President Barack Obama arrived "could be spies," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "We don't know who these women are," she told reporters in Washington. "They could be spies. They could be associated with hostile forces. They could have disabled the agents' weapons or planted listening devices or in other ways breach security. It is very serious." She said investigators suspect the agents and military personnel brought as many as 21 prostitutes to the sprawling beachfront Hotel Caribe in Cartagena, Colombia, April 11 during a night of carousing...

Secret Service Agents Took 20 Women To Colombian Hotel, Says Senator Susan Collins says director is pursuing 'vigorous internal investigation' as scandal triggers scrutiny of agency's culture Karen McVeigh 17 April 2012 At least 20 women were brought back to a hotel in Colombia by secret service agents and military personnel who are now under investigation into allegations of misconduct involving prostitutes, according to a US senator. Speaking after she was briefed by the director of the secret service, Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate homeland security committee, said on Tuesday: "There are 11 agents involved. Twenty or...

Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence and suggested political correctness is being placed above the security of the nation's Armed Forces at home. During a joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, the Maine Republican referenced a letter from the Defense Department depicting the Fort Hood shootings as workplace violence. She criticized the Obama administration for failing to identify the threat as radical Islam. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/06/military-growing-terrorist-target-lawmakers-warn/#ixzz1fsu7tKoG

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democrat-controlled Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican attempt to block a regulation intended to curb power plant pollution that blows downwind into other states. By a 56-41 vote, senators defeated a resolution by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said the step was needed to rein in what he called the Obama administration's overzealous job-killing approach to environmental protection. "We are simply asking that the clean air regulations already on the books stay in place and we do not make the regulations so onerous that they put utility plants out of business and we have an...

Stanford University Economist John B. Taylor and Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth recently told a congressional subcommittee that rolling back excessive government regulations and eliminating the threat of tax hikes would promote private-sector job growth more than another round of stimulus spending. But President Barack Obama, in the midst of his West Coast fundraising jaunt, said he makes no apologies for Wall Street regulation and environmental rules and doesn't buy the GOP charge they're costing jobs.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) will receive the Spirit of Lincoln Award next month from the LGBT-rights group the Log Cabin Republicans for his role in repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation. “As I said when I voted to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ when a soldier answers the call to serve and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight,” Brown said, thanking the group for the honor, according to On Top magazine. “My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor.”

The Maine senator said yesterday that while she thinks some new EPA regulations go too far, she doesn't support proposals to do away with the agency. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she does not support proposals to do away with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable shows that Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain promised to help Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi obtain U.S. military hardware in 2009. The cable, released by the open information group WikiLeaks, reveals the pledge came at meeting that was attended by other prominent members of Congress, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).In the meeting, Muatassim Qadhafi, the Libyan leader’s fifth son and national security adviser, requested U.S. assistance in obtaining military supplies, both lethal and non-lethal. The cable indicates that McCain was the dominant voice among the congressional delegation in a...

PORTLAND - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was approached at a reception Friday by several veterans who were eager to thank her for her role in helping to repeal the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, which banned openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving. Collins said their gratitude was misplaced. "It is I who thank them for serving our country," said Collins. The Maine Republican made her remarks as the guest of honor at EqualityMaine's celebration of the repeal of the policy, one of the events in the 25th Southern Maine Pride Week.

Via the Hill, the key bit comes at the beginning. I could almost tolerate her willingness to gift-wrap a talking point for Democrats about how allegedly radical Ryan’s plan is if she had an alternative in mind. Instead, after paying lip service to the magnitude of our looming fiscal catastrophe, her big ideas for cutting spending are … eliminating ethanol subsidies and waste at the Pentagon. I’m almost disappointed that she didn’t mention earmarks and foreign aid too; if we’re going to go penny-ante by targeting unpopular expenditures that won’t remotely balance the budget, let’s go all the way.She doesn’t...

Sen. Susan Collins is part of a renewed bid to pass a bipartisan bill protecting against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Maine Republican is a lead co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ENDA, along with Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Harkin of Iowa and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, along with her colleagues Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Tom Harkin (D-IA), have introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to finally prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Senator Collins has long been a strong supporter of this legislation. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2011 would prohibit employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and joint labor-management committees from firing, refusing to hire, or discriminating against those employed or seeking employment, on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity. Such protections are already in...

WASHINGTON — A massive security gap along the nation’s northern border is cause for grave concern as Maine combats a growing drug smuggling trade, says Sen. Susan Collins. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, says the Department of Homeland Security “must continue to analyze the right mix of resources, ensuring there is effective use of personnel, technology, and international, state, and local agency partnerships that allow the border be open to our friends, but closed to those who would do us harm." A new federal report highlights just how vulnerable Maine’s long border with Canada is to an array of illegal activity,...

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PORTLAND — Sen. Susan Collins this morning described for a group of business leaders from across New England her role in repealing the law banning gays in the military. (snip) In a 30-minute presentation, the Republican lawmaker described the 11th-hour maneuvering against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the waning days of 2010, her work to convince key Republican allies to support repeal and the challenge of opposing a close friend, renowned veteran, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. "It was exciting to help lead what I believe to be a historic change for our country, but boy it was not...

Maine Democrat Rosa Scarcelli suggested that a decision to challenge Sen. Olympia Snowe in 2012 could hinge on whether the three-term Republican is forced to fend off a primary challenge. Scarcelli, the CEO of an affordable-housing agency who ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, is widely seen as a rising star in her party and says she's very interested in running for public office again. But the 41-year-old also bills herself as a nonpartisan pragmatist who stresses she won't run against Snowe if the senior senator continues to vote as a moderate. "Olympia Snowe in my mind...

(snip) Candidates, whether RINO or socialist liberal Democrats in 2012 from those other New England states as well as others nationwide will be targeted, not only by the TEA Party groups, but the general public who were just getting warmed up in 2010 when they caused Obama to cry out that they, the liberal Democrats, got “shellacked”. It will happen again; mark my words. The public is finished with extremist liberals. There have been rumors and whispers of a possible new home for disaffected RINOs and liberal Democrats to form a what is privately being called a “centrist” third party....

The Maine senator collected kudos from President Obama for her role in moving the controversial legislation forward.Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican on the stage for yesterday's signing of the bill repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in the military, and one of only two Republicans at the ceremony. Collins, who played a major role in moving the legislation forward, collected kudos from President Obama. "I want to thank Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins," he said, to cheers from the attendees. Collins says there was no reason for the U.S. military to continue banning gays....

The repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy owes much to Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph I. Lieberman, who kept the issue alive when it appeared dead in the kind of partnership that is likely to become a model for getting things done in next year's divided Congress. Mr. Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, and Miss Collins, a Republican from Maine, plan to join President Obama at the White House on Wednesday when he signs the bill into law. The signing ceremony caps off a late-season effort that saw the military's ban on openly gay men and women...

The Senate voted 67-28 to pass a cloture motion, seemingly enough to assure final ratification. Eleven Republicans joined with 56 Democrats to pass the cloture motion. It will take 67 votes to ratify the New Start pact, which would give the Obama administration its top foreign policy goal in the lame-duck session. Among Republicans announcing their support were Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, George V. Voinovich of Ohio, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and...

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, says she's willing to support the repeal of the military's ban on openly gay service members. In a prepared statement, Snowe said that she will vote for a new stand-alone bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that would eliminate the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The policy, enacted in 1993, keeps gay and lesbian servicemen and servicewomen from serving openly in the military. (snip) U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who co-sponsored the repeal with Collins, indicated that Snowe's support would give the bill the 60 votes it needs to pass to avoid a...

Next week will be crucial for gay rights advocates and congressional supporters of repealing the “Don't ask, don't tell” law. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are working to garner support for a standalone bill to repeal the Clinton-era ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Lieberman and Collins formally introduced that bill on Friday. The Senate this week dealt a severe blow to repeal when it fell short of the 60 votes necessary to start considering the defense authorization bill, which contains the repeal provision. At this point the standalone repeal bill is a last-ditch...

White House officials said Friday that they have the 67 Senate votes needed to ratify a new U.S. nuclear-arms accord with Russia, and President Barack Obama will delay his planned vacation in Hawaii until the Senate votes. The declaration came after Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, declared their support for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

In other news water is wet, fire is hot A week ago the Senate Republican caucus sent a letter to Harry Reid telling him that they would not support acting on any legislation until the Congress vital business had been taken care of: For that reason, we write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers. With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative...

That makes 60 votes for cloture, assuming Reid can keep the entire Democratic caucus in line. I’m not aware of any defectors yet but Tester, McCaskill, Ben Nelson and a few other red-state Dems who are up in 2012 will be thinking awfully hard about this vote, needless to say.Two big qualifiers, though. Collins, at least, is sticking by the GOP’s plan to vote no on everything until a deal is reached on the Bush tax cuts. Brown’s statement doesn’t address the subject, but since he also signed the Republican pledge to make the tax cuts top priority, presumably he’s...

SENATOR COLLINS' STATEMENT ON 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' December 3, 2010 Following the conclusion of today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Senator Susan Collins released this statement: "Like our closest allies, the United States' Armed Forces should welcome the service of any qualified individual who is willing and capable of serving our country. "After hearing powerful testimony from Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen, and reviewing the results of the Pentagon report, I remain convinced that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy," implemented under President Clinton, should...

Centrist Senate Republicans are likely to get a new ally in Sen.-elect Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

It is beginning to look like the GOP has declared open season on Mama Grizzlies- or at least one Mama Grizzly. Many Republicans are losing their willingness to stay silent about Sarah Palin, and the latest is Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins who has always been a moderate politically. New England’s Republicans have been reluctant to cater to the Tea Party because it is not a very strong movement in the region. Vermont’s Tea Party rallies have attracted around a hundred people, for instance. Senator Collins feels that former Governor Palin cost the Republicans control of the Senate with her...

Two years ago, Barack Obama and congressional Democrats rode a wave of voter disenchantment into power. Many Republicans, even in some traditional strongholds, were swept aside. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was an exception. She didn’t defeat Democrat Tom Allen. She trounced him, 61-39 percent of the vote, a landslide victory political analysts attributed to Collins’ popularity with moderates, a standing shared by her Maine colleague, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, also a Republican. Two years later, the same moderate image that protected Collins from the blue wave could make Snowe vulnerable to the red one advanced by the tea party....

I didn't meet Sarah Palin during my year in Alaska. That's no surprise. She resigned as governor before I arrived in the state and was seldom there during my year teaching at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. But no matter where she was, Palin was a major focus of discussion everywhere I went. Would she run for president? How rich has she become? Would Bristol marry Levi -- and should she? What's Todd doing these days? And, as Palin began to involve herself in this years' campaigns, the conversation was about how much her endorsement mattered. That was certainly true...

$150,000 MoneyBomb For Joe Miller - U.S. Senate   Part of an email from Tea Party Express, OurCountryPAC: We are trying to do a MoneyBomb to raise $150,000 - $250,000 by Monday evening so we can keep buying more TV, more cable, more radio and last minute newspaper and Internet ads.

President Barack Obama and his allies in the Senate have won a key vote to advance a bill to help states and local school boards with their severe budget problems...Moderate Maine Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins cast the key votes to break the GOP filibuster.

There has been much talk recently about whether Republicans and Democrats in Washington can produce a bipartisan clean-energy and jobs bill. The answer is: We already have. We are leading a bipartisan effort to put a lid on carbon pollution and in so doing unleash a massive investment in clean-energy technology. If we can tackle this issue in a predictable, transparent and free-market way, we can create millions of high-paying jobs while limiting the worst effects of climate change and reducing both our dependence on foreign oil and the risk of another oil spill. We have authored a bill that...

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The Senate approved new far-reaching financial rules on Thursday aimed at preventing the risky behavior and regulatory failures that brought the economy to the brink of collapse two years ago and cost millions of Americans their jobs and savings. The bill passed by a vote of 59 to 39, with four Republicans joining a majority of Democrats in supporting it. The 1,500-page measure, shepherded through the Senate by Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the banking committee, seeks to reshape both Washington and Wall Street. (snip) They successfully courted Republican Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine,...

Maine Republican Susan Collins said Thursday she does not foresee a Republican filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, but she’s withholding judgment on her own vote until after the summer hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. And in a statement that may further bolster the prospects for Kagan’s confirmation, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), a potential swing vote, said he was comfortable with Kagan’s explanation of Havard’s ban on military recruiters at the Law School.

Tea Party Patriots in Maine turnout to show support for Senator Collins and Snowe standing strong against the new Democrat government takeover bank bailout scheme.

Sen. Collins pledges to block Democratic Wall Street bill By Alexander Bolton - 04/19/10 04:19 PM ET Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced after meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday that she will vote to filibuster a Democratic Wall Street reform bill. Her announcement hurts Democratic chances of moving financial reform legislation through the Senate this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last week that he planned to bring the legislation to the floor this week, but Collins’s stance means that Democrats will likely not have the 60 votes needed to begin floor debate. Collins said she...

"This administration cannot see a foreign terrorist even when he stands right in front of them." Yes my friends, that came from the mouth of MS Maine, our Northeastern RHINO, Susan Collins. She continued, “President Obama recently used the phrase that ‘we are at war’ with terrorists. But unfortunately his rhetoric does not match the actions of his administration. The Obama administration appears to have a blind spot when it comes to the War on Terrorism. And, because of that blindness, this administration cannot see a foreign terrorist even when he stands right in front of them, fresh from an...

In the Republicans weekly address.Conservatives often give Sen. Susan Collins grief for her willingness to compromise with Democrats (but note that she joined all 39 other GOP Senators and voted AGAINST the Dem health bill and the increase in debt). Here, she comes out swinging hard on the sheer idiocy of the Obama Administration's handling of the Christmas Bomber. Let's give her a vote of thanks for getting this issue right! [VIDEO AT SITE] Valuable intelligence which might prevent the next attack has been lost. The next attack may be a direct result of the Obama Administration's decision to treat...

Maine Senator Susan Collins totally destroys Barack Obama over his administration's conduct of the war on terror in the Republican weekly radio address.Video hereNo need to elaborate. Read the text for a masterful take down of Obama.“Less than one hour. That’s right, less than one hour. “In fact, just fifty minutes.“That’s the amount of time that the FBI spent questioning Abdulmutallab, the foreign terrorist who tried to blow up a plane on Christmas Day. “Then, he was given a Miranda warning and a lawyer, and, not surprisingly, he stopped talking. “How did we get to this point? How did the...

Architects of competing Senate climate change plans met Tuesday as behind-the-scenes talks continue over legislation that advocates of greenhouse gas limits are struggling to keep alive in 2010. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are trying to craft a compromise climate and energy bill, and they met in the afternoon with Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). Cantwell and Collins introduced a so-called cap-and-dividend approach in December. Kerry, Graham and Lieberman are hoping to blend emissions caps with energy provisions including expanded offshore drilling and new subsidies for nuclear power. “They [Cantwell and...