Weary delegation leaves bills undone Snowe bemoans dearth of consensus

AUGUSTA – Members of Maine’s congressional delegation are weary after a marathon weekend of legislating that nevertheless left most of the spending bills undone and set the stage for a post-election session in November. The House met Saturday, while the Senate met through the three-day holiday weekend.

“We have not completed action on the 13 appropriations bills, and we will have to rely on continuing resolutions, and that is unfortunate,” said Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, the senior member of Maine’s four-person delegation. “The intelligence reform legislation is an indication of how we can accomplish great things for America if we work together. Consensus building is absolutely essential, and we have not seen that this weekend.”

Snowe said she was concerned that the bipartisan spirit exhibited last week on the intelligence reform had evaporated over the weekend with partisan charges and countercharges. Democratic Rep. Tom Allen agreed with Snowe that the best way to fashion legislation is through bipartisan cooperation.

“That is not the way it is done in the House,” he said. “The House Republican leadership does not want cooperation. They have locked Democratic negotiators out of the conference committees.”

Allen said he voted for a House motion that would have adopted the Senate-passed intelligence reform bill, but it was defeated on a party line vote. He said the bill passed by the House is “far different” from the Senate version and he fears the conference committee charged with negotiating a compromise measure both chambers can accept will be unsuccessful.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins co-authored the Senate bill and has been named to lead the Senate delegation on the conference committee. She is expressing optimism that a compromise can be worked out before the election.

“There are many issues that divide us, but this issue is really important and the president is pushing for a bill,” she said. “But there are a lot of political forces at play here.”

She noted House Republicans are split with some lawmakers opposing any reform and others supporting a reform package. And some Democrats don’t want to see the president sign a bill before the election, she said.

If a compromise can’t be worked out before the election, it will be another issue joining the 11 of 13 spending bills that remain to be resolved after the election.

Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud said he is particularly concerned that the transportation funding package, in conference since June, has yet to be completed.

“I am really anxious to get this bill moved forward,” he said. “This is a jobs bill. It’s a jobs bill for Maine and for the rest of the country.”

But while members of Maine’s congressional delegation work in a bipartisan manner on many issues, they also disagree on some. Even the two Republican senators split their votes on a $136 billion corporate tax-cut bill that had started out as a $50 billion measure designed to help U.S. exporters avoid European tariffs.

Snowe supported the final bill and was on the conference committee that saw the legislation grow into a 633-page measure with 276 separate provisions giving tax breaks for businesses ranging from bow and arrow makers to NASCAR track owners.

“You had to weigh the benefits, balancing the benefits with all the concerns you have with other provisions in the bill,” said Snowe. The benefits to manufacturers and to shipbuilders like Bath Iron Works will help save and create jobs, outweighing the negatives of the bill, she said.

Collins disagreed, saying she couldn’t vote for it because there were too many negative provisions, such as a costly buyout of tobacco farmers.

“This bill gives billions to the tobacco industry and does nothing to hold it responsible for targeting children in its advertising,” Collins said. “What started out as a balanced, worthwhile bill has turned into pork-barrel legislation larded with special interest tax breaks.”

Snowe said the measure was paid for by closing tax loopholes that have allowed many manufacturing jobs to be exported and by eliminating tax shelters that have allowed wealthy Americans to shield their income from taxes. She said it was other tax legislation adopted in recent weeks that has added to the deficit.

All four members of the delegation agreed it was a long weekend with very little accomplished compared to the work left undone.