Collins to Speak At Maine Maritime Commencement

Maine Maritime Academy announced that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will address the graduating class at the college’s 64th commencement on May 5. Collins was elected to represent Maine in the United States Senate in 1996. Upon taking office, she was the first freshman senator ever to serve as chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Following her re-election in 2002, Collins became chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. The committee presides over the Department of Homeland Security and works closely with other Senate committees that deal with agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. She is also a member of the Armed Services Committee. In 2004, she co-authored the Collins-Lieberman Intelligence Reform Act, which represented the most sweeping changes to America’s intelligence community in 50 years. In October 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law port security legislation authored by Collins and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington). The Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act became the first legislation of its kind to authorize an annual federal funding level to help secure United States ports against terrorism. Maine Maritime Academy has had a long association with Collins. She served in 1997 as the official sponsor of the training ship State of Maine, has provided diplomatic assistance in training cruise ports-of-call and participated in the college’s 2005 commencement exercises to introduce her senatorial colleague, Sen. John S. McCain (R-Arizona). Source: Ellsworth American