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FAQS

How has Senator Collins worked to improve access to affordable health care?

Senator Collins has authored and supported laws to lower prescription drug costs, expand rural health care, advance diabetes and Alzheimer’s research, strengthen the health care workforce, and improve access to lifesaving services throughout Maine.

Prescription Drug Costs and Insulin

  • Helped author the Know the Lowest Price Act of 2018 and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, both of which were signed into law in 2018 and prohibited pharmacy gag clauses that prevented pharmacists from telling customers when paying cash would cost less than using insurance.
  • Supported the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act, known as the CREATES Act, which was signed into law in 2019 and targeted anti-competitive practices used to delay lower-cost generic and biosimilar medicines.
  • Co-authored the bipartisan INSULIN Act, which advanced from the Senate Health Committee in July 2026. The bill would cap covered patients’ monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35, create an insulin-access pilot program for uninsured patients, and address market practices that impede lower-cost insulin.
  • Introduced the Ensuring Timely Access to Generics Act and co-sponsored the Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act to prevent brand-name manufacturers from using regulatory petitions or litigation to delay lower-cost generic and biosimilar competition.

Diabetes

  • Founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus in 1997 and has led efforts to more than triple federal funding for diabetes research.
  • Secured the reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program through December 31, 2026, at $200 million per year, a 25 percent increase and the highest funding level in the program’s history. The program supports Type 1 diabetes research and diabetes prevention and treatment in Tribal communities.
  • These investments have contributed to advances in glucose monitoring, artificial pancreas technology, treatment, prevention, and research toward a cure, benefiting thousands of Mainers living with diabetes.

Alzheimer’s Disease

  • Authored the original National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which was signed into law in 2011 and established the first coordinated national strategy to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Authored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act Reauthorization and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act, which were signed into law in 2024. The laws extend the national strategy through 2035 and require an annual estimate of the research funding needed to carry it out.
  • Co-authored the Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act of 2024, known as the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law in 2024 and renewed public health programs focused on brain health, early detection, data, education, and caregiver support. Maine received one of the first BOLD awards in 2020 and a second award in 2023, helping the state implement its Alzheimer’s plan and prevention program.
  • Introduced the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act to create a pathway for Medicare coverage of FDA-approved blood-based biomarker tests, which could help patients receive earlier diagnoses when available treatments are most effective.

Rural Health Care and Maine Funding

  • Worked to create the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) during negotiations over the 2025 budget reconciliation law. Maine received $190 million in first-year funding, and Senator Collins intervened with federal officials to protect the award when state milestones placed it at risk. The RHTP represents the largest investment in rural health care in more than two decades.
  • Over the past five years, secured more than $220 million through Funding Maine’s Future for Maine hospitals, health centers, dental clinics, recovery programs, emergency medical services, and other health-related projects.
  • Recent investments include $10.81 million for a new emergency department and oncology infusion center at Stephens Memorial Hospital, $6.8 million for the emergency department at St. Joseph Hospital, $6.4 million for Rumford Hospital, $5 million for Bridgton Hospital, and $4.99 million for the Rural Health Clinic at Calais Community Hospital.
  • Funding has also supported maternity equipment, behavioral health services, pediatric mental health care, cancer treatment, dental clinics, mobile services, ambulances, electronic medical records, and backup power for rural facilities.

Health Care Workforce and Rural Access

  • Secured more than $13 million in Fiscal Year 2026 Congressionally Directed Spending for health care workforce training across Maine.
  • Introduced the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act, the Train More Nurses Act, and the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act to expand nursing education, increase faculty, create career pathways, and train professionals to care for older adults.
  • Introduced the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act to help rural providers be prepared to handle obstetric emergencies in hospitals that do not have a labor and delivery unit.
  • Introduced the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act to help rural and medically underserved Maine communities recruit and retain physicians.
  • Supported the CONNECT for Health Act to make key Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent.
  • Introduced the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act to maintain critical Medicare support for rural ambulance providers.

Other Key Legislation

  • Co-authored the Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for Health Care Act, known as the MOBILE Health Care Act, which was signed into law in 2022. The law allows community health centers to use federal funds for mobile clinics that bring primary care, dental care, behavioral health services, screenings, and other care directly to rural and underserved patients.
  • Co-authored the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs Reauthorization Act, known as the SIREN Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law in 2024 and extended federal support for rural fire and EMS recruitment, training, certification, equipment, and naloxone for five additional years.
  • Co-sponsored the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and supports mental health treatment, peer-support programs, suicide prevention, and burnout reduction for doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals.
  • Supported the No Surprises Act, which was signed into law in 2020 and protects patients from many unexpected out-of-network bills for emergency care and services received at in-network facilities.

How has Senator Collins supported economic development in Maine?

Senator Collins has worked to create jobs, support small businesses, expand housing and infrastructure, strengthen research and manufacturing, revitalize former industrial sites, and attract new economic opportunities to communities throughout Maine.

Funding Maine’s Future

  • Started her Funding Maine’s Future initiative after Congressionally Directed Spending was restored by the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2021 to deliver targeted federal investments across all 16 Maine counties.
    • Secured nearly $1.5 billion since then for 672 projects, including more than $428.6 million in Fiscal Year 2026 for 158 projects.
    • Results from formal requests submitted by local municipalities, hospitals, colleges, nonprofit organizations, public safety agencies, and economic development groups to ensure targeted federals investments are based on community needs rather than decisions made by agency bureaucrats in Washington.

Key Legislation

  • Co-authored the Paycheck Protection Program, which was signed into law as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020.
    • Helped protect more than 250,000 Maine jobs during the pandemic as small businesses faced government-ordered shutdowns and restrictions.
  • Helped enact the Northern Border Regional Commission Reauthorization Act of 2018, strengthening a federal-state partnership that supports infrastructure and economic development in distressed communities throughout northern and central Maine.
    • Helped secure more than $16.2 million in Fiscal Year 2026 awards through the Commission for projects supporting forest product development, transportation, and community infrastructure.

Revitalizing Maine Communities

  • Secured $12 million to revitalize former paper and textile mill sites in East Millinocket, Lincoln, and Lewiston.
    • Includes $5 million for cleanup and rehabilitation at the former Great Northern Paper mill site, $4 million for the Lincoln Technology Park, and $3 million to renovate the former Bates Mill complex for the MaineMILL Museum in Lewiston.
  • Secured nearly $25 million for workforce and affordable housing projects in Auburn, East Machias, Greenville, Indian Township, and Springvale.
  • Secured more than $14 million for local community centers, small business incubators, and municipal hubs across Maine, including in Van Buren, Kittery, Mars Hill, Northport, and Harmony.

Research, Innovation, and Manufacturing

  • Secured $45 million for the University of Maine Health and Life Sciences Complex, the largest single Congressionally Directed Spending award in Maine history.
  • Secured $20 million for Maine’s Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub, which will support new uses for Maine wood fiber, domestic manufacturing, and the forest-products economy.
  • Supported millions in workforce and infrastructure investments that help Bath Iron Works, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine’s forest-products industry, and other major employers recruit and train workers.
  • Secured $6.2 million for a Maine High-Performance Computing Hub and additional investments in 3D-printed housing, advanced manufacturing, composites, biomedical research, aquaculture, and engineering.

How has Senator Collins supported Social Security recipients, seniors, and family caregivers?

Senator Collins has worked for decades to protect earned Social Security benefits, help older Mainers remain independent, support family caregivers, advance Alzheimer’s research, prevent financial exploitation, and improve access to essential services.

Social Security Fairness Act

  • Co-authored the landmark Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on January 5, 2025, after decades of advocacy by Senator Collins. She chaired the first Senate hearing examining the issue in 2003.
    • The law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which unfairly reduced Social Security benefits for certain teachers, police officers, firefighters, postal workers, and other public servants or their spouses.
    • The Social Security Fairness Act restored full earned benefits for more than 25,000 Mainers and 2.8 million Americans. By January 2026, Mainers had received nearly $185 million in retroactive payments in addition to corrected monthly benefits.

Family Caregiving

  • Authored the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act, known as the RAISE Family Caregivers Act, which was signed into law in 2018 and established a coordinated national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers.
    • Co-authored the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law in 2026 and renewed the Lifespan Respite Care Program through Fiscal Year 2030 while increasing program funding.
    • Respite care provides temporary relief to family members caring for people who are aging, disabled, or chronically ill. In Maine, approximately 166,000 family caregivers provide 155 million hours of care to loved ones each year.
  • Introduced the Improving Retirement Security for Family Caregivers Act and the Catching Up Family Caregivers Act to help family caregivers who reduce their work hours or leave the workforce continue saving for retirement.

Aging in Place

  • Championed the establishment of the Older Adults Home Modification Program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program funds low-cost improvements such as grab bars, wheelchair ramps, accessible entrances, and walk-in showers that help low-income seniors remain safely at home.
  • Co-authored the Supporting Older Americans Act, which was signed into law in 2020 and reauthorized Meals on Wheels, transportation, caregiver support, senior centers, legal services, and elder-abuse prevention programs established under the Older Americans Act.
    • Also co-sponsored the current Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act, which would renew these same programs through Fiscal Year 2030, improve respite care, establish a Direct Care Workforce Resource Center, and strengthen services for seniors with disabilities, Tribal seniors, and underserved communities.
    • These programs are especially important in Maine, the oldest state by median age, where rural seniors may live far from health care, transportation, and other services.

Fraud Prevention

  • Authored the Senior$afe Act, which was signed into law in 2018 and was modeled on Maine’s first-in-the-nation program. The law encourages financial institutions to train employees to recognize and report suspected financial exploitation of older adults.
  • Co-authored the Seniors Fraud Prevention Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and strengthened the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to educate seniors, track scams, respond to complaints, and coordinate fraud-prevention activities.
  • Introduced the Senior Security Act to create a Senior Investor Task Force at the Securities and Exchange Commission focused on financial predators and investment scams targeting older Americans.

Affordability

  • Helped enact the Know the Lowest Price Act and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act in 2018, which ended pharmacy gag clauses and allowed seniors to learn when paying out-of-pocket would cost less than using insurance.
  • Co-authored the bipartisan INSULIN Act to cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month for seniors with private insurance while creating a dedicated federal pilot program to offer the same price cap to uninsured individuals.
  • Introduced the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act to count hospital observation stays toward Medicare’s three-day requirement for skilled nursing facility coverage and the CONNECT for Health Act to preserve Medicare telehealth access.
  • Secured nearly $40 million this winter for low-income families and seniors in Maine through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program in December and more than $4.3 million in additional funding in April.

What has Senator Collins done to support education and workforce training?

Senator Collins has supported educational opportunity, special education, career and technical education, college access, apprenticeships, and workforce programs that prepare Mainers for successful careers.

Protecting Maine’s Job Corps Centers

  • Successfully urged the Department of Labor to reverse its decision to halt enrollment at the Loring Job Corps Center and the Penobscot Job Corps Center. Enrollment reopened in 2025 after Senator Collins repeatedly pressed the Department to preserve both centers.
    • The Maine centers train young people for careers in health care, construction, advanced manufacturing, and other fields. The Penobscot center also operates Job Corps’ only advanced marine pipefitting program, supporting the workforce needs of Maine’s shipbuilding industry.
  • Following a proposal to defund the program, Senator Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, included $1.8 billion for the Job Corps program in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills that were signed into law.

Protecting Core Education Programs

  • Led negotiations as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee for the Fiscal Year 2026 federal education budget, rejecting massive cuts proposed in the President's budget and successfully securing:
    • $18.4 billion for Title I grants serving schools with high concentrations of low-income students and $15.2 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act state grants.
    • $1.4 billion for Perkins Career and Technical Education State Grants, a protected maximum Pell Grant award of $7,395, and $225 million for the Rural Education Achievement Program.
    • $1.2 billion for Federal TRIO Programs to help low-income students, first-generation college students, veterans, and students with disabilities prepare for and complete higher education.
  • Successfully urged the Department of Education to restore the Veterans Upward Bound Program at the University of Southern Maine after program funding was targeted for cuts.

Key Legislation

  • Co-authored the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which was enacted into law in 2002 as part of the No Child Left Behind Act and reauthorized in 2015 under the Every Student Succeeds Act, providing dedicated federal funding and flexibility to small, low-income rural school districts for technology, distance learning, and teacher training.
    • REAP remains the only dedicated federal funding stream specifically designed for small and low-income rural school districts, which often lack the administrative staff to compete for federal grants or receive allocations too small to be useful.
  • Co-sponsored the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, which was signed into law in 2013 to permanently tie federal student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note, lowering rates for millions of college borrowers and saving students nationwide billions of dollars.
  • Championed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which was signed into law in 2014 to streamline federal job training programs, strengthen partnerships with regional employers, and increase accountability for taxpayer dollars.
  • Authored key provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law in 2015 to replace No Child Left Behind while expanding local school control and preserving federal support for special education and rural districts.
    • Served as a member of the bicameral Conference Committee that negotiated the final bill text, successfully retaining critical protections for rural districts and after-school community programs.
  • Spearheaded bipartisan efforts as co-chair of the Senate TRIO Caucus to protect and reauthorize Federal TRIO Programs, repeatedly introducing the Educational Opportunity and Success Act to eliminate bureaucratic barriers for low-income and first-generation college students.
  • Introduced the Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act to expand Federal Pell Grant eligibility to qualifying high-demand, short-term workforce credential programs.
  • Introduced the Job Corps Shipbuilding-Defense Industrial Base Pipeline Act in 2026 to establish direct partnerships between Job Corps centers, registered apprenticeship programs, and employers like Bath Iron Works.

Funding Maine’s Future

  • Secured nearly $90 million in Fiscal Year 2026 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) to modernize Maine’s higher education system, including $45 million to construct a Health Life Sciences Complex at the University of Maine, $33.5 million for state colleges and universities, and $10.7 million for community colleges.
    • Targeted key workforce needs by funding a nursing and allied health simulation center at Eastern Maine Community College, expanding health care training at UMaine Farmington, accelerating maritime training at Maine Maritime Academy, and supporting construction of South Maine Community College’s Accelerator Lab.
  • Secured $8.4 million for projects across Maine to expand after-school care and child care facility capacity, including funding for the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine, the Rumford Child Care Center, and the Aroostook Child Care Resource Center.

What has Senator Collins done for veterans?

Senator Collins has long advocated for access to high-quality medical care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, benefits, transportation, housing, and support for veterans’ families and caregivers.

Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment

  • Since 2021, Senator Collins has led efforts to strengthen mental health and substance use disorder care for veterans by securing annual report language and prioritizing increased funding for these initiatives through the Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill. During that time, she has helped increase funding for VA mental health programs from $9.4 billion in FY2020 to more than $18.8 billion in FY2026.
  • Led efforts to expedite the construction of the Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program facility at Togus VA Medical Center, which opened in April 2026 as Maine’s first VA facility providing long-term residential treatment for substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and related conditions.
    • Before the center opened, Maine veterans requiring this level of care often had to travel to Massachusetts or Vermont and faced an average wait of 132 days. The new facility allows veterans to receive comprehensive treatment closer to their families and support systems.

Key Legislation

  • Supported the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, known as the PACT Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.
  • Helped enact the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which created the Veteran Community Care Program to help veterans receive care closer to home and incorporated provisions she championed to expand the VA caregiver assistance program to veterans of all generations.
  • Co-authored the Protecting Moms Who Served Act, which was signed into law in 2021 and strengthened maternal care coordination at VA facilities while requiring the first comprehensive study of maternal health among women veterans.
  • Co-authored the Advancing Uniform Transportation Opportunities for Veterans Act. Its provisions were signed into law through the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2023, allowing eligible severely disabled veterans to receive help purchasing an adaptive vehicle once every 10 years rather than only once in a lifetime.
  • Co-sponsored the Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options for Veterans Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and expanded access to high-quality breast cancer screening and care for women veterans.
  • Co-authored the Wounded Veterans Recreation Act, which was signed into law in 2020 and made all veterans with service-connected disabilities eligible for a free lifetime pass to national parks and other federal recreational lands and waters.

Current Legislation

  • Supports the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act, which would allow approximately 42,000 combat-injured veterans who were medically retired before 20 years of service to receive both their military retirement pay and VA disability compensation without an unfair offset.
  • Introduced the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act to expand the VA’s Highly Rural Transportation Grant Program. More than six in 10 Maine veterans live in rural areas, but under current rules only veterans living in Piscataquis County qualify for the program.

Funding and Maine Impact

  • Through her Funding Maine’s Future initiative, she has secured $3.66 million for facility and equipment improvements at Maine Veterans’ Homes in Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Machias, Scarborough, and South Paris.
  • In 2025, Senator Collins worked with the Department of Education to restore funding for the Veterans Upward Bound Program at the University of Southern Maine, which helps veterans prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education.
  • Since 2020, she has championed initiatives to enhance health care in rural areas by securing $115 million more than requested in the president’s budget requests and emphasizing continued care for rural veterans through targeted report language.

How has Senator Collins supported infrastructure modernization?

Senator Collins has worked to improve Maine’s roads, bridges, airports, ports, railways, water systems, fire and police stations, broadband, and other infrastructure that residents and businesses rely on every day.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

  • Helped negotiate and author the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as one of the law’s 10 core bipartisan Senate negotiators. The law was signed in 2021 and made the largest long-term federal infrastructure investment in decades.
  • The law authorized approximately $1.3 billion for Maine’s federal-aid highway programs and approximately $225 million for bridge construction, maintenance, and repair over five years.
  • It also provided major funding for broadband, airports, ports, rail, public transit, drinking water, wastewater treatment, flood resilience, clean energy, and the removal of hazardous contaminants.

Funding Maine’s Future

  • Since 2021, secured hundreds of millions of dollars in Congressionally Directed Spending for improvements to roads, bridges, sidewalks, airports, ports, drinking-water and wastewater systems, fire and police stations, emergency shelters, community facilities, hospitals, schools, and housing infrastructure across Maine.
  • Newly funded public safety projects include nearly $30 million in Fiscal Year 2026 for fire stations and public safety facilities, including projects in Belgrade, Dixmont, Easton, Kenduskeag, Stacyville, Swan’s Island, and Wesley.
  • Major transportation projects include $12 million for the Deer Isle-Stonington causeway, $10 million for Route 4 between Madrid and Rangeley, $9.6 million for major traffic improvements in Cumberland, $7.2 million for Bucksport Main Street, and $5 million for Route 4 safety improvements between Auburn and Livermore.
  • Major water system improvement projects include more than $3 million for Old Town drinking water, $3 million for Caribou wastewater, $3 million for Gorham wastewater, $2.5 million for Richmond wastewater, and $1.25 million for Canton drinking water.
  • Funding has also supported airport runway renovations and the purchase of snow-removal equipment, port and harbor improvements, working waterfronts, culverts, sidewalks, trails, public transit facilities, ambulances, emergency operations centers, and municipal building modernizations throughout Maine.

National Transportation Programs

  • As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $350 million for bridge repair and rehabilitation, $145 million for BUILD grants, $103.3 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program, and $35 million for the Small Shipyard Grant Program in Fiscal Year 2026.
    • These national programs have repeatedly supported Maine projects that improve safety, strengthen supply chains, and help communities and employers compete for economic opportunities.
    • Since joining the Appropriations Committee in 2009, Senator Collins has helped to secure more than $1 billion in competitive transportation grants for the State of Maine.

What has Senator Collins done to address the opioid crisis?

Senator Collins has supported prevention, treatment, recovery, law enforcement, workforce development, and international drug-trafficking initiatives to combat opioid use disorder and the fentanyl crisis.

Key Legislation

  • Helped shape the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which was signed into law in 2018 and included Collins-authored provisions supporting safe medication disposal and peer recovery networks.
  • Helped secure provisions in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law in 2025 and included Collins-authored provisions to renew peer recovery networks, maternal and child health programs and research, and loan repayment assistance for substance use disorder professionals.
  • Co-sponsored the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, which was signed into law and established a broad federal response encompassing prevention, treatment, recovery, overdose response, and law enforcement.
  • Co-sponsored the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act, known as the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which was signed into law in 2024 and imposed sanctions and financial penalties on individuals and organizations involved in international fentanyl trafficking.
  • Supported the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, known as the HALT Fentanyl Act, which was signed into law in 2025 and permanently classified fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I controlled substances while preserving pathways for legitimate research.
  • Helped shape the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, which included $1 billion for state opioid-response grants and five mental health and health care provisions she authored or co-authored.
  • Co-authored the SIREN Reauthorization Act, which was signed into law in 2024 and allows rural EMS agencies to purchase naloxone and strengthen their overdose-response capacity.
  • As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins has supported funding for State Opioid Response Grants, the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant, the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, overdose prevention and surveillance, and the National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative.

Funding Maine’s Future

  • Has made treatment, behavioral health, and recovery projects a major component of her Funding Maine’s Future initiative, securing more than $23 million since 2024 alone for mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs and facilities across Maine.
  • Recent investments include $2.647 million to expand the Portland Recovery Community Center, funding for a regional recovery center in York County, expanded residential treatment in Aroostook County, treatment services for adolescents, recovery housing, mobile care, and peer-support programs.
  • These projects add treatment capacity, expand recovery services closer to home, and help Mainers maintain support after leaving residential or clinical care.

How has Senator Collins supported Maine’s fisheries and marine resources?

Maine’s fishing industry is a cornerstone of the state’s economy, culture, and coastal heritage. Senator Collins has defended Maine lobstermen from unworkable federal regulations, preserved Maine Sea Grant, protected working waterfronts, and supported marine research and workforce development.

Protecting Maine’s Lobster Industry

  • Led the Maine congressional delegation in securing a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that prevents new federal North Atlantic Right Whale regulations from being imposed on Maine’s lobster fishery through December 31, 2028. The six-year pause protects thousands of Maine jobs while additional research is conducted and more accurate data are collected.
    • Since the enactment of this provision, Senator Collins has secured than $80 million in funding for North Atlantic Right Whale monitoring.
  • Helped secure $14.1 million to assist Maine lobstermen with the cost of complying with new federal gear requirements.
  • Has continued to oppose any forced transition to unproven ropeless fishing gear without meaningful input from Maine fishermen and evidence that the technology is safe, reliable, and affordable in Maine waters.

Maine Sea Grant

  • Successfully fought the Department of Commerce’s attempt to terminate Maine Sea Grant and secured the restoration of its full federal award. Maine Sea Grant supports sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, working waterfronts, marine businesses, research, and coastal resilience throughout the state.
    • In 2023, Maine Sea Grant generated an estimated $23.5 million in economic benefits, supported 332 businesses and 565 jobs, and produced approximately $15 in economic activity for every federal dollar invested.
  • Received the Sea Grant Association’s Association Award in 2026 in recognition of her work to preserve the program.

Key Legislation and Funding

  • Helped lead the Young Fishermen’s Development Act, which was signed into law in 2021 and established a NOAA grant program to train and prepare the next generation of commercial fishermen and women.
  • Introduced the bipartisan Working Waterfront Preservation Act, which would create a grant program to help coastal communities and maritime businesses preserve and improve working waterfront property.
  • As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she has secured more than $80 million for North Atlantic Right Whale research and monitoring. She has also secured $16 million since 2018 for American lobster research through the Sea Grant program.

What has Senator Collins done to expand rural broadband?

Senator Collins has worked to expand reliable, high-speed internet access throughout rural Maine. This allows residents to easily access health care, education, employment opportunities, public safety services, and other essential resources. For businesses, connecting to the internet is no longer a luxury, but an essential way to participate in commerce.

Key Legislation

  • Negotiated the broadband section of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law in 2021. The law provided $65 billion nationwide to expand high-speed internet access, with a particular focus on unserved and underserved communities.
  • Co-sponsored the Broadband DATA Act, which was signed into law in 2020 and improved federal broadband maps by requiring more detailed coverage information and allowing consumers, providers, and communities to challenge inaccurate data.

Maine Impact

  • The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Senator Collins was a negotiator and co-author of, provided Maine with an approximately $272 million allocation through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
    • In 2025, Maine received approval to use $48.4 million in federal funding, combined with more than $109 million in private investment, to extend high-speed internet service to 21,880 homes and businesses.

How has Senator Collins advanced bipartisan civil rights and government reforms?

Senator Collins has worked across party lines to protect marriage equality, combat hate crimes, and strengthen democratic institutions.

Respect for Marriage Act

  • Co-authored the landmark Respect for Marriage Act with Senator Tammy Baldwin and served as the lead Republican sponsor who helped build the bipartisan coalition needed for passage. The law was signed on December 13, 2022.
  • The Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government to recognize marriages that were valid in the state where they were performed and requires states to recognize valid same-sex and interracial marriages from other states.
  • The law protects access to federal benefits, taxation, inheritance, immigration, veterans’ benefits, Social Security, and other rights connected to marriage while preserving explicit religious-liberty protections.
  • For Maine couples, the law provides statutory assurance that their marriages will continue to be recognized by the federal government and across state lines, including if Supreme Court precedent recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage were changed.

Other Civil Rights and Survivor Protections

  • Co-authored the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which was signed into law in 2021 after passing the Senate 94-1 and strengthened the federal response to hate crimes targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
  • Co-sponsored the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and made lynching a federal hate crime.
  • Co-sponsored the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and allows survivors to pursue claims in court rather than being forced into private arbitration.
  • Co-sponsored the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which was signed into law in 2021 and established Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
  • Co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which added crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability to federal hate crime law.

Government Reform and Election Security 

  • Co-authored the Electoral Count Reform Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and modernized the procedures for counting electoral votes, clarified the limited role of the Vice President, and established clearer rules for resolving disputes to ensure the peaceful transfer of power following a presidential election.
  • Co-authored a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 that was signed into law in 2025 and requires penetration testing of election systems seeking federal certification to help identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

How has Senator Collins promoted fiscal accountability and responsible budgeting?

Senator Collins has worked to make federal spending more transparent, reduce improper payments, protect whistleblowers, prevent misuse of government funds, and restore a more orderly and accountable appropriations process.

Key Legislation

  • Co-sponsored and helped advance the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law and created a free, searchable database showing federal grants, contracts, loans, and other spending.
  • Helped enact the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010, which requires agencies to identify programs vulnerable to improper payments, establish corrective-action plans, conduct recovery audits, and recover funds paid incorrectly.
  • Co-authored the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012, which was signed into law and established safeguards, audits, internal controls, and penalties to prevent misuse of federal purchase and travel cards.
  • Co-authored the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, which was signed into law and strengthened protections for federal employees who report waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and threats to public health or safety.
  • Co-sponsored and managed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 on the Senate floor as Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, helping pass bipartisan legislation that explicitly affirmed that members of Congress and federal officials are not exempt from insider-trading laws.
    • Helped build critical transparency and accountability safeguards into the law, including a searchable online database for financial disclosures to increase public trust.
  • Authored the Taxpayer Identity Protection Act, which was signed into law through the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 and expanded access to identity-protection personal identification numbers to prevent fraudulent tax returns.

Funding Maine’s Future

  • Through Funding Maine’s Future, has secured nearly $1.5 billion in Congressionally Directed Spending for publicly disclosed Maine projects requested by municipalities and nonprofit organizations, with project names, recipients, locations, amounts, and purposes available to the public.
  • This transparent process allows Mainers to see how federal funds are being used and ties investments to specific local needs and measurable community benefits.

Appropriations and Budget Leadership

  • As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she has advanced individual full-year appropriations bills through regular committee review rather than relying exclusively on last-minute omnibus legislation.
  • Has required reporting, oversight, and spending safeguards while protecting Congress’s constitutional responsibility to decide how federal funds are used.
  • In 2025, led bipartisan negotiations on legislation that reopened the federal government, provided back pay to federal employees, and enacted three full-year Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills.
  • Full-year funding provides greater certainty for Maine veterans, servicemembers, shipyard workers, farmers, hospitals, schools, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations while avoiding the costs and disruptions caused by shutdowns.