Don Nickles: “I wish to compliment Senator Collins for an outstanding maiden speech, her first speech on the Senate floor. I think the…”

“I wish to compliment Senator Collins for an outstanding maiden speech, her first speech on the Senate floor. I think the speech speaks very well for itself and for Senator Collins. I think it also speaks very well for the State of Maine, in showing excellent taste, making an excellent decision in electing Senator Collins. I look forward to working with her and joining with her and with Senator Snowe and following the tradition of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who was one of the pioneers in the Senate. I wish to compliment the Senator from Maine for an outstanding speech. Several of the things which she mentioned in her speech we have very high on our agenda. Senator Collins mentioned that she wanted to pass a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. We are going to be discussing that today, and hopefully we will be voting on that very soon, certainly by the end of this month. Hopefully, we will pass it. I might mention, Senator Collins' election may well be the deciding vote in making that happen, because in the last Congress, we failed by one vote.”