Robert Casimiro, in his letter May 3, mentioned two dates and asked the question, “Where was Collins?”
On March 25, as a senior member of the Senate Aging Committee, Sen. Susan Collins attended a hearing where a new report on Alzheimer’s disease was presented. This report, which Collins commissioned as co-chairman of the Congressional Alzheimer’s Task Force, contained a realistic view of the struggles faced by patients, families and caregivers of that terrible disease.
On April 20, Collins was returning from an overseas fact-finding mission where she and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee participated in important discussions with world leaders about the future of America’s nuclear missile defense system.
To suggest that, as a leader of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Collins is not working to address recent violence along the southern border of the U.S. is false and ignores reality.
Perhaps Casimiro is unaware that, just last month, the Senate passed an amendment to the budget resolution, authored by Sens. Collins and Joe Lieberman, that would provide an additional $550 million to combat the Mexican drug cartels’ efforts to smuggle drugs, weapons and cash across the border, as well as help local law enforcement officials address the violence spilling over into the U.S.
So, in response to Casimiro’s original question, Sen. Collins was hard at work doing what she can to help and protect the people of Maine and our nation, which is exactly what she was elected to do.
Kevin Kelley, Washington, D.C.
Communications director
Office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins