Senator Collins introduces legislation to stabilize and reform U.S. financial system

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today introduced “The Financial System Stabilization and Reform Act (FSSRA) of 2009” to fundamentally restructure our nation’s outdated financial regulatory system to strengthen oversight and accountability.
“As a former Maine financial regulator, I believe financial regulatory reform is absolutely essential to restoring public confidence in our financial markets,” said Senator Collins. “America’s consumers, workers, savers, and investors deserve the protection of a new regulatory system that modernizes regulatory agencies, sets safety and soundness requirements for financial institutions to prevent excessive risk-taking, and improves oversight, accountability, and transparency. My legislation will fundamentally restructure our financial regulatory system to help rebuild the confidence of our citizens in our economy and restore stability to our financial markets.”

FSSRA calls for the creation of an independent Financial Stability Council (FSC), composed of representatives from existing federal financial regulators which now have the responsibility to oversee portions of the financial system. The FSC will serve as a “systemic-risk monitor,” and would maintain comprehensive oversight of potential systemic risks to the financial system. It would have the ability to propose changes to regulatory policy, working with existing federal regulatory agencies, when systemic risk could emerge due to regulatory gaps or the emergence of risky new financial products. The FSC would also have the authority to close regulatory “black holes” that pose a systemic risk when risky products or activities fall outside the current authority of federal financial regulators. The FSC would also have the authority to adopt rules that ensure financial institutions do not grow “too big to fail,” by imposing different capital requirements, raising risk premiums, or requiring a larger percentage of debt be held as long-term debt.

Additional provisions in the FSSA would:
• Close the credit default swaps loophole to ensure oversight of a financial instrument that contributed heavily to the current financial crisis and the downfall of AIG. This regulatory gap allowed systemic risk to build in our financial system without the oversight and transparency needed to prevent a collapse;• Impose safety and soundness requirements on new investment banks by requiring them to organize under the Bank Holding Company Act. Under the current system, investment bank firms such as the Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers were left unregulated with no agency given the authority to examine the full scope of their operations;• Merge the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and Office of the Comptroller Currency (OCC) to consolidate and reduce the number of banking regulators, improving the effectiveness of the entire system. This merger was recommended by many experts, and the Treasury Inspector General recently raised concerns about the objectivity and effectiveness of OTS;• Protect the rights of states to regulate the insurance industry.

Senator Collins announces nearly $15 million in VA funding in Maine

Funding for Togus VA Hospital, Augusta, Caribou, and South Paris VA Homes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, announced that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be awarding $14,809,493 in funding to Maine’s VA hospitals and homes. The VA Hospital at Togus as well as the VA Homes in Augusta, Caribou, and South Paris will each be receiving a portion of the funding. The funding will be used for infrastructure upgrades and construction.

The funding is being distributed to Maine through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Senator Collins worked with a bipartisan group of senators to craft the legislation that became law last month. “The quality of VA care is critical to Maine’s veterans. We will always be indebted to them. This funding will help ensure that they receive the very best health care available at Maine’s VA clinics and hospitals,” said Senator Collins.

Collins casts her 4,000th consecutive vote

from the Bangor Daily News:

On Thursday, there was no drama as Collins voted in support of final passage of the Public Lands Act, bringing her record of consecutive votes to 4,000. The Maine Republican also holds the distinction of never having missed a vote during her Senate career.

Collins’ inspiration is another Maine Republican, the late Margaret Chase Smith, who never missed a Senate roll call in 13 years before surgery ended the streak at 2,941.

“One of my goals has been to make sure that Maine is always represented to the extent that it’s humanly possible for me to be present for votes,” Collins said Thursday from Washington.

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Senator Collins announces $485,000 in senior nutrition assistance funding

U.S. Senator Susan Collins today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will distribute a total of $485,000 in federal senior nutrition assistance to Maine through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Senator Collins led a bipartisan group of senators to craft the legislation that became law last month.

“Eating healthy, well-balanced meals helps to improve the quality of life of all of our seniors. This funding will help those organizations that are dedicated to ensuring that Maine seniors have continued and reliable access to nutritious food,” said Senator Collins.

The Recovery Act provides $325,000 for congregate nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites in Maine and $160,000 for home-delivered nutrition programs that are delivered to low-income seniors at their homes.

Stimulus package increases criminal justice grants

from the Portland Press Herald:

The federal stimulus package approved by Congress includes a major increase in the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, federal law enforcement funding that has been sharply cut in recent years.

The state's Justice Assistance Council is scheduled to meet Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the Department of Public Safety in Augusta to take public testimony on how Maine's $9.6 million share should be spent.

The state is likely to propose spending the funds on computer upgrades that would allow different sectors of the criminal justice system to communicate and access one another's databases, said Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan.

If courts, prisons, prosecutors and police communicate better, then offenders will get more appropriate bail conditions and probation requirements. A prosecutor would know if a person charged with domestic violence had previously failed to complete a batterer's intervention program, Jordan said, or a police officer would know if a drug suspect is already out on bail in another county.

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Nearly $70 million in weatherization funding for Maine

SEN. COLLINS ANNOUNCES NEARLY $70M IN WEATHERIZATION FUNDING

Weatherization reduces home heating bills by an average of 32%

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced that the State of Maine will be receiving a total of $69,240,015 in federal funding for weatherization and energy efficiency. The funding is being distributed to Maine through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Senator Collins worked with a bipartisan group of senators to craft the legislation that became law last month.

Of the total, $41,935,015 will be for weatherization while $27,305,000 will be designated for the State Energy Program.

“One of the most effective and immediate ways we can help people stretch their energy dollars is through weatherization,” said Senator Collins. “It is estimated that low-income Mainers spend at least 14 percent of their income heating their homes. Experts estimate that every dollar spent insulating walls and attics, sealing drafty doors and windows, and repairing and replacing outdated or faulty heating equipment generates about $2.72 in savings over the life of a home. During this time of economic crisis, it is good to see that this weatherization funding will help create savings for the citizens who need it the most.”

According to the Department of Energy, on average, weatherization reduces home heating bills by an average of $358 per year.

Senator Collins votes against cloture on Omnibus Bill

U.S. Senator Susan Collins released the following statement after voting against cloture on the Omnibus Appropriations bill. This $410 billion bill bundles together nine separate spending measures:

“Our nation faces a tough economic recovery. At such a critical time in our nation’s history, it is imperative that taxpayer dollars are spent carefully and effectively. The Omnibus Appropriations bill does not meet that basic test.

“While this bill contains important funding for many worthwhile programs, its overall size is excessive since it would increase discretionary spending by eight percent over last fiscal year’s levels, far above the rate of inflation. Even more troubling, because it was drafted last year, the bill does not take into account the funding recently approved in the economic stimulus package. As a result, it contains excessive and in some cases duplicative funding for many agencies and programs that already received significant funding boosts in the economic stimulus law. I am concerned that this duplicative funding will lead to wasteful and unnecessary expenditures, particularly since most of the money must be spent within the next six months prior to the end of the fiscal year. That is why I supported an amendment that would have sent this legislation back to the Appropriations Committee where this spending could have been reconciled with the funding in the stimulus package. Unfortunately, that amendment failed.

“At this time of economic crisis, I do not believe that it would be fiscally responsible to support this Omnibus Appropriations bill.”