Business aid, drug prices delegates’ priorities

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WASHINGTON – Members of the Maine delegation to the 107th Congress say they are eager to get down to work on projects that will benefit Maine residents.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Reps. John Baldacci and Tom Allen say they plan to continue their efforts to strengthen small businesses, pass prescription drug benefits for seniors, protect the environment and work on Medicare and education reform.

Sen. Snowe

Snowe’s recent appointment to the prestigious Finance Committee will be one of the most influential committee positions she has held. Committee members write legislation related to taxes, trade, health care, welfare, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

“I hope to work on improving the Medicare reimbursement level,” she said. “I will have an ability to work for fair trade policies and on the customs and border issues so critical given our state’s potato and lumber industries and our long common border with Canada.”

Snowe said she plans to be extremely busy in this session of Congress and to introduce close to 80 bills this year.

“My priorities include enacting prescription drug coverage for Medicare recipients, expanding health care coverage for the uninsured, helping make higher education more affordable and enacting tax policies that benefit working families,” she said.

The Senate Centrist Coalition, which she co-chairs, will be crucial in moving ahead legislation in this Congress this year, Snowe said.

“The centrist group will encourage us to work across party lines to work out the differences that all too often stop a bill from going through despite the fact that both sides agree on the importance of the issue but can’t find common ground on the best way to address the problem,” she said.

The coalition consists of 43 members from both parties, including Collins, and Snowe will oversee the recommendations made by group.

Sen. Collins

Collins succeeded Snowe on the Armed Services Committee when Snowe moved over to the Finance Committee. “Maine is a major contributor to America’s armed services,” Collins said, adding that she intends to make sure Mainers get recognized and rewarded for their efforts on behalf of national defense.

She is a strong supporter and co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, and is working on an amendment she hopes to offer that would prevent wealthy candidates from “buying” their seat.

“Good people won’t run because they know they can’t spend as much money. The presence of big money undermines the trust of the American voter,” she said.

Collins has not yet developed details on this amendment, but she hopes it will make the election process fairer.

The senator said one of her first priorities will be to help President Bush win passage of his education reform proposal. Collins said she agrees with Bush that schools should be held accountable for their performance and there should be more emphasis on recruiting and attracting good people to teaching. But she does not support the idea of school vouchers.

“I agree that kids should not be trapped in bad schools, but we should focus on improving public schools instead of diverting money away from them,” she said.

Collins has been working on education reform for years. Last week she reintroduced bipartisan legislation giving teachers a tax credit of $100 to help them pay for classroom materials and a deduction for their professional development expenses. The bill, which passed the Senate last session but was not taken up by the House, is co-sponsored by Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Collins is the chairwoman of the Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. On that committee, Collins focuses on Internet fraud and Medicare fraud and plans to soon reintroduce a bill addressing Social Security fraud.

Rep. Baldacci

Baldacci said he plans to introduce at least seven bills this year, focusing on agriculture, health care and education.

As part of his work on the Agriculture Committee, Baldacci plans to try to increase the safety of the U.S. supply of meat and poultry. His bill would enhance the Department of Agriculture’s authority to remove contaminated products from the market and punish the distributors of these products.

Seniors are of particular concern to Baldacci, because Maine has an older than average population. And although Baldacci was pleased that Maine received a federal waiver last week to use Medicaid funds to lower the costs of prescription drugs, he is still fighting to allow bulk importation of cheaper Canadian prescription drugs approved by the FDA.

Baldacci also is working on legislation to increase access to higher education and raising the Pell grant level to offer qualified undergraduate college students more federal financial aid.

“Maine is doing well with high school degrees but not enough Mainers receive college degrees,” he said. Part of his legislation also calls for more research and development funding for Maine universities.

He is not too worried that a possible run for governor will conflict with his congressional responsibilities.

“There are conflicts no matter what you do,” he said. “Other congressmen have done it, too.”

He said he will continue to go home every weekend. “It’s the best way to do your job,” he said. “Not by sitting in your office.”

Rep. Allen

Allen plans to “continue my unfinished work of the 106th Congress” on health care, environment and education.

He plans to reintroduce his Clean Air Act, Clean Power Plant Act, and the Prescription Drug Fairness Act for Seniors, and is “trying to provide legislation to help small businesses offer health insurance to their employees.”

He will either reintroduce bills or co-sign new legislation to increase special education funding for Maine, further access to higher education by offering tax credits and deductibles, reduce class sizes in schools and support construction of schools.

Allen’s agenda this year includes addressing the “acute lack of math and science teachers in Maine,” he said. His legislation would offer scholarships to math and science majors if they agree to teach these subjects for two years in Maine schools.

Allen plans to soon reintroduce three measures to prevent mercury poisoning in Maine. The legislation would “curb mercury emissions from power plants,” promote trade-in programs to phase out mercury thermometers, and stop used mercury from being “dumped” in India and other Third World countries.

Although their schedules will keep them busy, all four delegates stressed that they wanted to stay in close touch with their constituents, return home on weekends and during recesses, and communicate through mail, e-mail and phone conversations.

“Going home is so important to me,” said Collins. “It’s what keeps me grounded.”