Washington, DC – Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today was re-elected by her peers in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to serve as Chairman for the 109th Congress. Senator Collins received unanimous support from the Republican members of the Committee to maintain the role in which she has served since January 2003.
“My goal this year is to continue promoting a bipartisan working environment in the Committee so that we can focus on tackling the important issues facing this country. I hope that the success we had at the end of last year with the bipartisan Collins-Lieberman intelligence reform legislation will start us off on the right foot this year,” said Senator Collins.
“I anticipate building on our work in the last Congress to strengthen our national security by, among other things, overseeing and improving the Department of Homeland Security and investigating sources of terrorism financing. I also plan to investigate wasteful government spending, modernize the United States Postal Service, investigate the United Nations “Oil for Food” Program, and enhance federal employee benefits,” Collins added.
Senator Collins first became Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs on January 15, 2003. The Committee was renamed this year as the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to reflect its expanded oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Senator Collins is the first woman to Chair the Committee and the 15th woman in history to serve in the U.S. Senate. Prior to becoming Full Committee Chairman, she chaired the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Senator Collins has been a member of the Senate since 1996.
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