AUGUSTA, Maine — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to meet Tuesday morning with independent Sen.-elect Angus King to discuss committee assignments and how they will collaborate to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate, according to Kevin Kelley, a spokesman for Collins.
King won a six-person contest Tuesday to replace Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who announced in February that she would not seek re-election to a fourth term in the Senate.
Collins, who becomes Maine’s senior senator with Snowe’s retirement, wrote in an email Sunday that she has spoken to King by phone twice since his election and plans to meet with him in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning. Both King and Collins flew to the nation’s capital on Sunday.
“I am doing all that I can to help Sen.-elect King learn the ways of Washington and be an effective senator for Maine,” Collins said. “One of the issues we will continue to discuss is committee assignments and how we can work together to address the critical needs of Maine and our nation. While it’s too early to know what our final committee assignments will be, I expect that I will continue to serve as a senior member on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.”
Collins currently serves as the lead Republican on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. She has served in that role for six years. Kelley confirmed Sunday that Republican rules preclude Collins from remaining as the ranking member of that committee.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who chairs the committee, did not seek re-election, leaving the HSGA committee without its two long-time leaders. Collins urged the committee to move ahead with ongoing investigations, including a probe of the circumstances that led to the death of four Americans, including U.S Ambassador Christopher Stevens, in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 of this year.
“While Republican caucus rules will prevent me from continuing to serve as the top Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I remain committed to effective oversight and using the expertise I have acquired to work with my colleagues to strengthen our homeland security against terrorist attacks and natural disasters,” Collins said Sunday. “Among my priorities for concluding the work of this committee this year are our investigation into the attacks in Benghazi, cybersecurity legislation, and completion of our postal reform legislation which has already passed the Senate but has yet to be acted on by the House.”
On the Appropriations Committee, Collins is the top Republican on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee. In that role, she pushed for federal legislation that allows trucks carrying heavier loads to travel on federal highways in Maine.
“My preference is to continue to be the top Republican on the Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee where I have the ability to help shape our nation’s transportation priorities, while working to help ensure that Maine’s needs are addressed,” she said.
Collins also hopes to continue serving on the Armed Services Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. “This is a key subcommittee which not only provides vital resources to our troops and our nation, but also helps boost Maine’s economy by recognizing the enormous contributions to our country made by employers in our state like Bath Iron Works, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Pratt and Whitney, Saco Defense, Smith and Wesson, the DFAS center in Limestone, along with many other smaller defense contractors,” she said.
Finally, Collins will seek to continue service on the Special Committee on Aging. Citing the fact that Maine has the oldest median age in the nation, Collins seeks to advocate for the needs of that population as the top Republican on the committee.
Snowe serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Finance Committee.
Snowe also has offered to meet with King in Washington this week.
When asked to offer advice to her successor prior to Election Day, Snowe said it would be important for Maine’s new senator to and “balance and complement the committee assignments of Sen. Collins.”
Since Collins took office in 1997, she and Snowe — as members of the Republican Senate caucus — worked together to coordinate committee assignments. King has not publically stated with which party he intends to caucus, although most Washington observers have assumed he would align with the Democrats, who added to their Senate majority in Tuesday’s elections.
King endorsed President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and said during the campaign that he would vote against repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans targeted in the current Congress and during the just-concluded campaign season.
King was traveling Sunday and unavailable for comment. Crystal Canney, communications director for his campaign, confirmed that he does plan to discuss committee assignments with Collins while in Washington to meet and greet his future colleagues in the Senate and other federal government officials.
Do Not count on Mr. King
Of course you can count on him !!! ……..to line his pockets even more than he did when he was Governor of Maine…….
King and Collins are going to meet Tuesday to figure out how to sucks some more tax dollars out of us and do it together.
If King is going to represent ALL of us, he would be advised to stay away from the Republicans.
We Republicans are part of “ALL of us.”
Perhaps now with their big loss in state and federal elections they will start acting like they are.
And people wonder why there has been no compromise. Oh that’s right when Obama won the first time he told the GOP he didn’t need their input or votes cause he won the election.”And when House Republican Whip Eric Cantor offered some ideas in early
2009, Obama said, “Elections have consequences, and Eric, I won.” Does
that sound like the gridlock is the GOP?”
The gridlock was/is a result of republicans using the filibuster to block many democratic programs which would have created jobs, job training for veterans being just one example. Another glaring example was the vote on the ACA, which in reality was originally a republican plan. The republicans opposed it only because a democrat was pushing it. They continue to oppose it even though this election has shown Americans support it as well as higher taxes to reduce the deficit. We will see in the next month or so whether the republicans will recognize the will of the voters, or whether they will continue to promote the policies of the Koch, ALEC, the US Chamber of Commerce, Karl Rove, etc. corporate toadies. Will they fight to defend the Bush tax cuts for the rich or will they compromise and keep just the cuts for the middle class?
If you doubt the rejection of the republican (right wing) agenda, just look at Florida where most of the policies of the republicans were voted down.
And Mitch McConnell said that the goal of the Republican party was to make Barack Obama a one-term president.
That is correct. My point is this gridlock is NOT a one party issue, as many in the controlling party would want everyone to believe.
Gridlock is on Grover Norquist!
Both sides need to be open to compromise. Obama has demonstrated a willingness to compromise at least on some issues. At this point, it is about the future, not the past, so let’s hope politicians from both sides of the aisle can work together for the good of America.
Norquist the lobbyist is who rules the Repub party. Now isn’t that great for America? NOT.
Nice to see Collins and King will be working together.
But who will they be working for ???
For us :-)
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, Gopher! That’s a real knee slapper!!!! Ha-ha-ha!!!
King was WVOM less than 12 hours after he was declared the winner saying he didn’t know who he was going to caucus with, what a lying sack of ____
So…The Democratic Party abandons our candidate – Cynthia Dill, and throws its support to right leaning moderate Angus King even though King is not a Democrat, and doesn’t represent many Democratic Party policies.
Now, the pigeons come home to roost and King is fawning over Senator Collins, who has graciously volunteered to help Angus “learn the ways of Washington.”
The Democratic Party really hit a new low when it threw it’s candidate under the bus and surrendered to Angus King a Senate seat that was ripe for, and should have been taken by, a DEMOCRAT!
Dill had no chance of winning against Summers, a teaparty member and associate of ALEC and other extreme right wing ideologues. It was far better to have King than to allow the continued take over of the government by such extremists.
If he does not work for Maine he can be voted out.
Yes, but the point I was trying to make is if the Democratic Party had put it’s FULL support behind Dill from the very start, she would have had a great chance of beating Summers AND King!
In any event, it doesn’t change the fact that the Democratic Party needs to grow a pair.
Just my opinion
That is possible, but in some other states democrats lost even when backed by the national party. In some cases they were outspent 10/1. In some cases of course democrats won even when outspent, so hind sight doesn’t actually help here.
I had posted a couple of times that the most important thing in this election was to make sure the tea party and other right wingers did not gain any more influence in the federal or state governments. Some may feel a bit guilty about not voting for Dill, but to me the most important goal was accomplished in this case.
ademain – I understand that Dems didn’t want Summers, and that WAS accomplished, but I still believe we did not need to elect Angus to keep Summers out.
We will unfortunately never know, but I believe that Dill could have won this election if the Party had supported her from the beginning.
King, though certainly not Summers, Is still the “compromise candidate” and as an old 60s liberal, I guess I’m just to old to want to compromise.
Thanks for your reply.
Then the dems should have encouraged someone who is not like Dill.
it’s (with apostrophe) = it is, contraction
its (without apostrophe) = possessive pronoun
It’s not that hard to get this right.
My sixth-grade grammar textbook covered it in its first chapter.
While we’re being English teachers, pigeons roost. A pidgin is an ad-hoc simplified language that a community speaking one language improvises to communicate with a community speaking a different one (ex. “When drums stop, very bad! When drums stop, bass solo”).
Hank has never Twittered before has he? Hank, on Twitter you only have so many characters that you can write. Text messages will only give you so many characters to use as well, a space equals one character….out of 120. So let’s give people a break . When it comes to writing a book, or a term paper, a news article or a grocery list, I agree with you . This is a comment posting area and people are going to do things differently. Such as : I hope you have a great week…..:O)
Pssst – we’re not on Twitter here.
Perhaps it is time all parties will learn to work together for the People. King won with big money behind him. So now he is in and am sure Mainers will watch his every move and if those moves do not fly, Mainers will let him know.
King also won with big money against him. His victory has shown that Karl Rove, the Koch brothers, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the other fronts for the multi-million $ corporations cannot dictate election results. That is a good sign.
King had money more of that “bad out of state money” then Summers and Dill put together.
If you include Soros and Hollywood, I will agree with you.
There are, at my last count, nine states with movements to overturn the Citizens United decision by constitutional amendment. My hope is that it will spread and succeed. It is a long process, however. Hopefully the elections since 2000 will be a wake up call to every one. It is important to be informed and aware of what politicians really mean when they give flowery speeches promising the moon. It is even more important for voters to know where the money comes from to support these candidates. We have no way of knowing if the money spent by the superpacs is of American or foreign origin. In view of the billions spent this cycle I have no problem with restricting George Soros, or the unions, if it means multinational corporations are also restricted in their influence.
Do a search of the contributions from the oil and coal industries, which receive millions in corporate welfare, for an example of what I mean.
Many thanks for your reply and information. I will be researching the money sources of the contributions and will update my findings. Citizens United sounds to be an intelligent giant step that really needs to spread. Soros and the unions definately are included in the financial influence.
It’s a good thing that Susan Collins is now married after Angus’ “fawning over” her!
Except that it wasn’t. Cynthia Dill was not a viable candidate in a state-wide election anymore than Elizabeth Mitchell was. Democrats did not want to repeat the mistake that they made in the gubernatorial election. “Once bitten, twice shy.”
Maybe Maine Democrats have the same problem within the state that the Republicans have on a national level. The selection process within the party leads to a candidate that is not supported by the electorate at large. Maybe Cynthia Dill would have made an excellent senator, but she was far from an excellent candidate.
Pat – thanks for your response.
I don’t think the problem was that Dill was rejected by “the electorate at large”, rather she was rejected by her own party. The electorate simply followed where the Party went. The electorate never got a chance to consider Dill, as by the first week of announcing his candidacy the Democratic Party had all jumped on the King bandwagon. And yes, as you say, Dems were scared of another 3-way and capitulated to the better known King.
But my belief is that Maine Democrats didn’t get LePage because they “stayed home” and voted for Mitchell, they got LePage because they left the Party to vote for Cutler. There IS a difference.
And I know I’m prejudiced, but I thought Dill was a solid – though inexperienced – candidate. Of course, few people watched the debates, but I thought Dill was excellent.
Indeed, I watched all the debates and the only candidates that I thought represented what they actually stood for was Dill and Summers.
Angus? I’m STILL trying to figure out what he stands for.
Maybe, as your post suggests, we ended up voting for the excellent candidate, and are ending up with the lousy senator.
Dill would have been (is) worthless for Maine. She is too far from the middle.
Snowe is described as a senior senator. I would describe both her and ole Angus as senior, but in a different way. It looks like all you have to do to be a senator is be old and white. Maybe at their meeting they can wax nostalgic about how Maine life was in the 1940s while they were growing up.
If they all do not work together, many of us will not be working.
Which is the way The Democrat party wants to keep things. More people dependent on the government, the larger the voting block.
. . . Yet another story that Republicans like to tell themselves.
It could just be that many Democrats are altruistic people whose compassion extends past themselves and their immediate families.
Altruism, not selfishness, as a guiding principle. Some might have a hard time relating to that.
Many Republicans do share that principle.
I agree with you. I think many Republicans do share the principles of compassion and altruism. Unfortunately, in recent times, many of the most vocal Republicans on these comment boards see altruism and compassion as political acts that should be subject to suspicion and derision.
Yes, we need to balance the books. We also need to keep our humanity.
Well Said. You have keen insight and your comments show how much you care about Maine and want all good.
Which is the way the republican party wants to keep things; more people fighting for jobs that pay less than living wages so the rich can increase their wealth.
Collins, never a hair, a button, out ofplace, no lint, she looks like she is just out of a boutique, I would much rather see a woman, with, the look like she has been working.
SHe works very hard. Stop the lint pickin.
I have never voted for Sen. Collins and likely never would, for she is much too obsessed with tax breaks for the richest Americans, eliminating the inheritance tax, and funding the military as much as it wants. But she does work very hard and has a reputation for excellent constituent services. She has also helped bring in tons of money for UMaine. Good for her to appear so well. She deserves the respect of all Mainers, whether they agree with her votes or not.
Obsessed with tax breaks for the richest Americans, eliminating he inheritance tax, unlimited funding for the military, bringing tons of money to the UMaine, the UMaine has a spending problem, they cannot even transfer credits, and we also can add to her credits, being unable to see the folly of the Iraq War, being George W. Bush’s buddy, and her being quite responsible for bankrupting the United States Post Office, for requiring a 5.5 billion yearly payment to fund the retiree health care fund for 75 years worth ahead, in only 10 years, this move helped make the US budget less affected by the Iraq War cost, that War cost us our independence basically, she could not see the folly of this, we need leaders who can see our real problems, and find solutions, not run around giving to pet projects, and knowing how to play Mainers like a fiddle.
Dear Pattenpond,
Excellent further criticisms of “Our Senator,” her motto from her last two re-election campaigns, and I defer to them all. I thought any complete condemnation of Collins would be eliminated by the online powers that be. She can do no wrong in the eyes of the BDN and gets praised for even minor things. Thanks again for your reply to my posting. She also got outgoing Gov. Baldacci to put her brother Sam on the UME System Board of Trustees. He is now Vice Chair and has considerable power in the Board’s overall policy of micromanaging minor things and of removing ever more operating funds from the seven campuses. And of course he’s opposed to any pay raises for faculty and staff despite the System’s having ample funds to do so, esp. after freezing almost everyone’s pay–save that of the coaches and a few other favorites–for the past three or four years.
How about starting to work to get good common sense policies in place that ignore what’s in it for me. What a shameful occurrence to happen to us. We deserve so much better than what we got the last 30 years. Really shameful.
Hang on, Senator Collins is on Transportation? Great! She can get us changed to Atlantic Time. I’ve had enough of this dark-at-4-PM crap.
anyone think they actually care about the people, LOL
Absolutely. Senator Collins has helped many Mainers and has gone out of her way to do so.
Give Angus King a chance, he has just started. Benefit of the doubt applies here.
With the RINO (Collins) who wants us to think she is a Republican and the closet Democrat (King) who conveniently calls himself an Independent, there is no question in my mind that they will be working together like peanut butter and jelly to further O’s progressive agenda. God help us…
O’s progressive agenda; access to healthcare for all, investment that creates jobs, restoring tax’s on the highest earners, reducing the debt, restoring limits on risk taking by the too big to fail corporations and banks, ending the wars, restoring our reputation throughout the world, providing basic life sustaining assistance to economically displaced citizens, leading immigration reform, supporting education and supporting veterans, restoring the middle class, and jump starting the economy.
Looks to me like God already did help us.
If your definition of reducing the debt is adding 4 trillion dollars to the debt in 4 years (that’s a trillion a year for 4 years) then God help us because it’s the same thing that Obama thinks.
Obama’s administration has a good start by reducing the deficit, the difference between bills due and income. If he is allowed to continue, the debt will be reduced, although I doubt he will be able to achieve President Clinton’s surplus in the next 4 years, especially with the expected continuing obstructionism of the Grand Obstructionist Party.
Clinton/Powell 2016
Do you really think the cost of living goes down?
All costs rise, not much goes down
…and now the Devil’s Detailed Passages, chiseled on His stone tablet await revelation.
Voters will fall to bended knees when paying for their health insurance. They will share weeks and months of loving bipartisan hugs while waiting to get to the head of the line to see the Doctor. Investments will be consumed by the top feeders served garnished with with justice and fairness. The whole wide world will love us and we will be known as The Humbly Apologetic Oscar Meyer Weiner of International Relations and will be bestowed with peace and love.
Yes! Fall to your knees! Send your poor and disabled for they will be comforted and cured at the feet of the Most High. All other voters will have government created jobs because He so loves the children aroud His knees.
Just gives ya the warm fuzzies, doesn’t it? Our world is perfect now!
Well, we’ve seen what ideologues can produce, let’s see what smart people can do.
Keep the hope, man!
And I bet you believe in the “Tooth Fairy” also. There is nothing in O’s personal background history or past track record to make me believe that his next four (4) “Forward” years will be any different than his last four (4) “Hope and Change” years. It is most probable that at the end of his term the Country will be on the tipping edge of Socialism and the hard working “haves” will be supporting (through redistribution and taxation) the lazy stay at home “have -nots” who believe it is the government’s obligation to provide for all their wants and needs.
Unfortunately for us O is not a leader by any stretch of the imagination. He is a divider and has done nothing to unify the Country and bring us together to work for common causes that will benefit everyone not just his chosen groups. If the Lord is already helping us, He needs to try a little harder…
George W Bush is The Great Divider.
Yeah him.
Apparently why the GOP lost is lost on you.
To anyone with 1/2 a brain,George W Bush was The Worst President this country has ever had. What didn’t he ruin or destroy but at least this spoiled trustfunder kept us safe on 9/11. He did give us some chuckles on the aircraft carrier though,Mr War Hero
Well, I thought the complaint was that he didn’t do anything in his last four ears. So, how do you get from doing nothing to “the edge of socialism” I don’t think you even know the definition of socialism. Look it up and while your at it look up plutocracy. Look up how much money was sitting in offshore banks doing nothing during Reagan. There’s $25 TRILLION sitting there now.
The “redistribution” your talking about is tax rates of the Clinton years which were much lower than tax rates of the Reagan years. The division of the country was there before Obama was elected.
Here’s a novel idea, get your oligarchy to create full employment, which should be easy for them, and then let’s cut the benefits. Ninety percent of the unemployed want to work.
You must be another one-want-to-be defending the rich.
What that…Sen. King wont’s to chat with Sen. Collins….Maybe she wont’s in on a few wind mills for a little heating oil…..Sorry folks you voted him in,now lets live with it or try too anyways..!!
This would be a non sequitur if one was a Republican and the other an Independent; however, both are on the record for: abortion; the destruction of the institution of marriage; deficit spending; and coerced health care. Collins and King will be comfy plotting the demise of conservative values and the Constitution.
Sen. King,
Before you snuggle up too close for advice from Sen. Collins, you need to take a good long look at her voting record, which co-insides with her republican collegues, supporting Minority Leaders, Mitch McConnell’s agenda to oust President Obama. Look at what she voted down. That is the best indication of her true self in what she believes. She is no moderate as was Sen. Snow, who really made an effort to work with the President. Collins and Snow’s votes parted ways in the Senate many times.
I do not dislike Collins, but as I followed the Senate on C-span public TV, but she voted time and time again against and helped to block every bill that would have helped the American people to economically improve their way of life.
They won’t because King is a Democrat in sheeps clothing!
Another empty suit on capitol hill setting up his next income stream on the back of taxpayors…What a joke as he will caucus with dems because he is one who does not have the guts to admit it..he will look for ways to promote himself and his image and the people of Maine will continue to suffer.
Does anyone work together in The U.S Senate ? I’d like to throw the pols of both parties off a REAL cliff,one by pathetic one ! They’d make great fertilizer at the bottom of the gorge.
Everything you say is correct.
But we have ELECTED all these incompetents.
At the end of the day, we get the government we deserve.
In reality, it is the electorate that is to blame.
I agree with you 110 % !! Our pols are only a reflection of us as a people-society. Couldn’t agree with you more !
I used to be against term limits. I always thought terms should be limited by the voters.
Now, I think term limits are essential.
You sure can’t count on the voters to get rid of these losers, and the system itself encourages incumbency.
I’ve never believed the electorate is stupid.
But I REALLY believe they are apathetic, and it’s just too easy to send the same lowest-denomenator representatives back to legislate year after year……
The phones these daze are a lot smarter than the people,especially in the urban areas
So Pudge, how do you propose we get out of the cycle of electing these incompetents?
How do you convince an apathetic electorate that the power to solve the mess in DC lies with “We the People?”
Any Ideas?
Oh, i have a lot of ideas but they require some work. Have spent my life building energy efficient houses,well before the so called green movement, and advocating a non-dependent lifestyle. Most Americans are going in the direct opposite direction. Sheep just begging to get sheered & fleeced.
Interesting.
I feel strongly that all NEW construction, both commercial and residential, be solar powered.
The technology is definitely here, as I know several people here down east that have solar powered houses.
It would create a huge new industry. Think of the jobs!!
Naturally traditional energy companies hate ideas like that, and lobby hard against our efforts. Politicians really can’t be bothered with it.
If I was 20 years old knowing what I know now, I’d be going solar all the way.
Sure beats Saudi oil!
Anything beats Saudi- M.E. oil,the war drums are beating louder & louder. The M.E. is getting to blow. Wind,wood,solar and nat gas,let alone our drill’able oil reserves,instead of funding the people who want to kill us.Just one more dependency,on exactly the wrong people.
There is no doubt about the fact that scoundrel King is already planning to make his next million off of the senate seat .
Another wind turbine project perhaps(by supporting PTC), or this time pushing insulation after forming his own company to get federal subsidy money he votes on so as to avoid personal financial risk in the new business.
Maybe he will now support fracking (after buying shares) in the companies involved.
Fracking is evil,just ask Obummer’s mindless clueless regulators who wouldn’t know the difference between a chunk of coal and clean burning nat gas.
does he look like a dishonest car salesman or is it just me ?
No matter who get in people will not like them . So we will see the same crap from you people give it a rest or did you people take lessons from Rush Limbaugh he will be whining about obama for the next 4 years
” No matter who get in people will not like them”
Wolly – not always true. In Vermont, where there are lots of conservative areas, Voters re-elected Bernie Sanders, a self proclaimed socialist by a huge margin.
Voters respond positively when presented with a candidate they respect and trust.
Just my opinion.
You wath in here for a year an you will see that
The two republicrats will get along just fine. “I’m doing all I can to help him learn the ways of Wasington….” With New England Republicans all but extinct in the congressional theater, Collins will be happy to have him as an ally on many fronts – particularly those involving sustaining the corporate grip on the place, which will continue to be “the ways of Washington.”
That settles the question. Guess he’ll be “caucusing with the Democrats and their ally RINO’s.