19 months ago
MONMOUTH (NEWS CENTER) -- Senator Susan Collins is touring around the state this school vacation week, talking to Mainers about why she broke with her party to vote in favor of the economic stimulus plan. She was in Monmouth Wednesday morning, visiting Tex Tech, a company that manufactures flame retardant fabric, bullet proof fabric and other high tech textiles. Sen. Collins said she doesn't consider the stimulus plan to be a perfect one, but she felt it was much more important to find a compromise and get money out to people quickly. She also acknowledged that her vote has not made her popular within her own party, but she said, that doesn't bother her. "My obligation is to the people of Maine," Sen. Collins said. "And they didn't send me to Washington to sit on the sidelines. They want me to try to solve problems, and they want me to work in a bipartisan way." Collins said the stimulus plan will not work overnight and that it is just the beginning of government intervention in the economy. But she said she won't vote for another bailout of the financial industry unless the money goes directly into lending. She, fellow Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector were the only Republicans in either house of congress to vote in favor of the stimulus plan.
