Susan Collins

The Navy is still dealing with a legacy of underfunding year after year.

I believe it was last July, just this past year.

I want to join my colleagues in thanking you for your extraordinary service.

The Army Audit Agency submitted a report that was critical of the Army's preparedness to deal with such an attack.

I'm pleased that the fiscal year 2004 budget submission appears to turn the corner on shipbuilding.

The Navy's fleet is still going to drop, as you indicated, below 300 ships in the coming years.

Our Nation requires a fleet of 375 ships in order to fulfill all of the Navy's mission requirements.

I believe that it is time for us to reevaluate the need for those existing deployments.

Is the Senator from Utah aware of any other case in which a judicial nominee received a highly qualified rating from the ABA and was subject to a filibuster on the Senate floor?

Would the Senator from Utah be so kind as to explain the ABA rating system under which it is my understanding that Mr. Estrada received the highest possible rating? Would the Senator further explain whether there was a split rating, or…

The purpose of all the deployment to the Middle East is to deal with this issue from strength, to send the message large, loud and clear to Saddam Hussein that the decision for war is his. The President has said that he will make the…

When I left Maine earlier today, the forecast was for temperatures with a wind chill of 40 below zero tonight. We are facing a ``perfect storm'' of exceedingly cold winter weather, high energy prices, and a difficult economy. This…

I thank the Senator for his illuminating words. If the distinguished ranking member would indulge me further, I would like to call to his attention a research initiative regarding food safety and security that is on the Committee's list of…

In the middle of that firefight, I had to decide whether I believed what I say I believe. And when I finally answered that question, my faith became so strong, it gave me the strength to fight for the rest of the night.

I am hopeful that as our bill moves through floor consideration and conference with the House, we can work to ensure that this type of research is adequately funded within the Department of Defense. There are many aspects to consider in…

I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses on the best way to ensure that the Director of Homeland Security has adequate authority, budget resources, and the clear authority to accomplish this overwhelmingly important mission.

It is my judgment that we do need to have a statutory basis for the office to clarify the lines of authority.

I appreciate your holding this hearing to evaluate legislative options to strengthen our homeland security.

This is a change that makes sense. I hope we will adopt it this year. It is long overdue to change our tax policy to reflect the modern-day realities of running a small business.

I want to remind those who say that the Senate, the other body, is going to accept this as dead on arrival. I also want to remind Members of this: the majority Members of the other body support a stimulus package. It is the supermajority…

As always, I am impressed by the ranking member's knowledge and his grasp of the issues, and I appreciate that we are in agreement as to the value and need for this critical ship. I look forward to our continued work together in support of…

I also would like to briefly speak on the LPD-17 program, which is a critical ship for the modernization of the Navy's amphibious force. Each of these ships can carry more than 700 Marines and their equipment to shore to perform their…

I think it is interesting that at every single hearing we have had, no matter what the areas we are looking at, we find that agencies are not talking to one another or not sharing information or there is a lack of coordination.

If we can inspect at the point of origin, it seems to me that really is the way we have to go.

We must have highly trained and a sufficient number of employees.