NEWRY – U.S. Rep. Tom Allen of Portland met Saturday with about 30 members of the Maine State Bar Association as the group’s summer meeting was ending.

Allen is the Democratic nominee running against Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins of Bangor for the U.S. Senate. Collins was invited to the MSBA meeting, according to President Brett Baber of Bangor, but was unable to attend. Collins instead spoke Saturday to the statewide American Legion convention at the Bangor Civic Center, according to her campaign spokesman Kevin Kelley.

The first question Allen fielded from his fellow lawyers wasn’t about habeas corpus, or the pre-emption of federal regulations over state law, or the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court under a new president.

It was about the high cost of heating oil and what can be done to help Maine residents heat their homes safely this winter.

“I can’t go anywhere in Maine without the topic of heating oil coming up in the first or second question,” Allen said. “This winter, the need will reach way beyond those who qualify for LIHEAP [the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program].”

When asked if lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have the political will to address the pending crisis in a volatile presidential election campaign, the congressman said, “We have to.” He added that he did not know what kinds of programs are likely to be approved.

“There can be progress in supplemental appropriations,” Allen said. “Look what we just did to help the flood victims in the Midwest.”

Last week the House overwhelming approved sending $2.6 billion to the Midwest for flood relief.

The conversation with the MSBA on Saturday quickly turned to legal issues and Allen’s vote Friday against a bill to update the 30-year-old Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act. The question about the congressman’s reaction to the passage of the so-called compromise bill by a 293-129 vote was asked by Christopher Branson, president of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

Allen said he voted against the bill because it provides immunity to telecommunications companies for their involvement in warrantless domestic surveillance.

The MCLU backed a consumer privacy complaint before the Maine Public Utilities Commission in an attempt to find out if any Maine residents had been subject to illegal wiretaps. The federal government sued the PUC to stop the investigation. The Maine lawsuit is one of more than 40 similar suits pending before a federal judge in San Francisco.

The bill directs the court to review certifications from the attorney general saying the telecommunications companies received presidential orders telling them wiretaps were needed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack, according to The Associated Press. If the paperwork were deemed in order, the judge would dismiss the lawsuit.

“People want to know what happened and why,” Allen said Saturday. “I believe we should let the lawsuits go forward. Through the discovery process, we would then find out what the administration really did.”

Allen said he would have voted for a FISA bill that did not include the immunity clause or dismissal of the lawsuits.

Democratic 2nd District U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud of East Millinocket also voted against the bill.

The Senate version of the bill is expected to pass next week and Collins will vote for it, Kelley said Saturday in an e-mail.

“Like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Olympia Snowe, and the director of national intelligence, Senator Collins believes that this legislation is a carefully balanced bill that protects civil liberties while allowing surveillance of foreign terrorists seeking to harm us,” Kelley said.

Collins’ campaign Sunday criticized Allen’s vote on FISA in a press release.

“Tom Allen had a chance to help protect our nation’s safety and security,” Kelley said. “Unfortunately, he caved in to the pressure of partisan special interest groups and voted to deny our intelligence community the necessary resources to continue monitoring foreign-based terrorist communications.”

In statement posted on his congressional Web site, Allen explained his vote.

“The Bush administration’s claim of ‘state secrets’ is nothing more than an attempt to evade questions about possible violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by administration officials,” he said. “As I have stated before, neither the government nor large telecommunications corporations are above the law; everyone must be held accountable. This ‘compromise’ fails to hold either the Bush administration or the telecommunications companies to the same standards that apply to other Americans.”

Kelley countered that the immunity provision in the FISA bill does not preclude prosecution for telecommunications companies for criminal wrongdoing if any occurred. They don’t “get away with anything,” as Allen claims.

Telecommunications companies are simply protected from civil suit if they acted in good faith, according to Collins’ campaign spokesman.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

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