Senator Collins - I Found The Energy Culprit - By Alex Hammer

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Senator Collins - I Found The Energy Culprit - By Alex Hammer

Resourcefulness aside, Mainers struggle with rising energy costs as aid is overdue - Bangor Daily News

See also: Maine, LIHEAP, Iraq and $1 Billion - By Alex Hammer
and
SENATOR COLLINS QUESTIONS ENERGY EXPERTS ABOUT REASONS FOR RECORD HIGH ENERGY COSTS - PolitickerME.com

Bangor Daily News Excerpt:
"State administrators of the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, are also worried."I am very concerned about what is going to happen in three weeks," said Jim Baillargeon, director of energy and housing services at the Aroostook County Action Program.

Baillargeon works at one of 11 community action agencies across the state that process applications for the energy assistance program. He said his agency is processing about 60 applications a day.

"The phones are wild," Baillargeon said in a phone interview.

Congress has yet to approve money for the program for fiscal year 2008, which began on Oct. 1. President Bush vetoed a bill that contained $2.4 billion for the program a month ago (bold and color via Maine News) and the House failed to get the votes necessary for an override. Meanwhile, the program is operating at 75 percent of the funding level from last year until the new budget is approved. (bold via Maine News)
(link to Bangor Daily News article at end of post)

Alex: I have no evidence whatsoever to support this theory - it is totally conjecture - but I believe that the reason (or a reason) Senator Collins may not have held hearings in regard to waste or fraud in Iraq

DailyKos: Despite requests to investigate abuses, Susan Collins refused to do so

and maybe Senator Collins has come out with a statement about this but I haven't seen it,

after doing such a phenomenal job in oversight hearings in regard to abuses arising from Hurricane Katrina (that solidified her reputation in my mind and I'm sure others and provided her with high-profile exposure) is because going against the President to that degree (not that it would in fact be going against the President, but I imagine - again conjecture - that it could be very much viewed as such) could be seen as an act of disloyalty to a degree that there would be political repercussions.

Such as LIHEAP.

But President Bush has shown, to my mind, if nothing else that appeasement with him doesn't work. He just (not that I'm privy to any inside information, just my view from reading the papers etc. like everyone else) in my opinion goes ahead and pretty much (unless directly stopped) does whatever he wants (i.e. he seeks to do that).

I believe that Senator Collins is a moderate (public campaign support for Rick Santorum and Chandler Woodcock (one of my opponents for Governor in 2006) aside). And I think that she is a good Senator. But unless there are some significant facts that I am not aware of, I think she has done a marked contrast in performance in regard to oversight from Katrina to Iraq.

It's pretty striking.

SENATOR COLLINS QUESTIONS ENERGY EXPERTS ABOUT REASONS FOR RECORD HIGH ENERGY COSTS - Dec. 11 -PolitickerME.com
Excerpt:
"The Senate Homeland Security Committee Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recently held a hearing titled, “Speculation in the Crude Oil Market” to examine whether speculation in energy markets has caused, at least in part, the recent spike in energy prices that has become a financial hardship on families in Maine and throughout the nation.

Senator Collins, who is Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has called on Congress to pass carefully crafted legislation to help monitor and curb speculation on futures markets that artificially drive up prices. She has also called for a national strategy to pursue the long-term goal of energy independence."
http://www.politickerme.com/senator-collins-questions-energy-experts-about-reasons-record-high-energy-costs-349

Also (Update, I just found this): I'm sticking it in at the end as it's from the Maine Democratic Party, obviously no friend of Senator Collins.
The collins record - big oil before mainers - December 12, 2007
Excerpt:
"In recent media accounts, including an op-ed appearing in the Bangor Daily News last weekend, Senator Susan Collins says she believes "it is absurd to expect taxpayers to continue to subsidize the soaring profits of the oil and gas industry." But when Senator Collins voted for the Cheney energy bill, she helped place the burden of a $14 billion giveaway to Big Oil and Gas on the backs of hard-working Mainers.

"While taxpayers foot the bill for this windfall, Senator Collins voted against bills to prevent price gouging to protect consumers and stop market manipulation by greedy speculators," said Carol Andrews, communications director for the Maine Democratic Party. "When Senator Collins votes, Big Oil and Gas win while Maine's middle class families and small businesses lose," Andrews said.

In her piece appearing in the BDN on Saturday, Dec. 8, Senator Collins wrote "now is the time to seek energy independence." Yet for 11 years, she rejected several opportunities to assert energy independence by voting for Bush-Cheney giveaways to Big Oil and Gas instead of consumers and freedom from foreign oil. "Senator Collins talks one way in Maine but votes the other way in Washington," Andrews said."
http://www.mainedems.org/CollinsputsbigoilbeforeMainers.aspx

And this from DailyKos (obviously no friend of Senator Collins either):
Rep. Tom Allen's bill will look into Wartime Contracting
Excerpt:
"Susan Collins was the first chair of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, whose duties include oversight of Federal contracting. But despite repeated requests from her colleagues to look into numerous media reports about cost over-runs, graft, theft and mismanagement, Collins refused to do so. She did not call even one hearing to look into what has cost our Treasury billions (to be fair, neither has Joe Liebermen)."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/12/162225/29/813/421260

Bangor Daily News article link: http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=157799&zoneid=500Alexhscpub@aol.com