STATEMENT OF SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS ON PASSAGE OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2004 BUDGET RESOLUTION

"We needed to pass this budget in order to restore some order to the spending process in Washington. Having a budget, even an imperfect one, is an important step in trying to get our nation''s debt under control. Last year, we failed to pass a budget, and the result was haphazard and chaotic spending.

"One highlight of this process was the passage of legislation I worked on expressing the sense of the Senate that we need to provide fiscal relief to the states. The Rockefeller - Collins resolution, which passed with an 80-19 vote, recommended $30 billion for the states, at least half of which would be for Medicaid. Maine would receive $190 million under this proposal."