Sen. Collins speaks on homeland security

PORTLAND – Sen. Susan Collins of Maine weighed in on President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security.

Collins is the ranking minority member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and spoke with Napolitano after Obama announced her nomination Monday.

Collins said that as governor of a border state, Napolitano understands the importance of developing policies that will not impede legitimate travel and trade, but also will keep the nation’s enemies from entering the country.

The Maine Republican said the Department of Homeland Security requires a leader who can direct one of the largest departments in government and is committed to working in a bipartisan manner on homeland security issues.