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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...