PORTLAND (AP) — A federal health care reform bill could be passed within six weeks, but only if partisan bickering is put aside, Sen. Susan Collins told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Collins said she is optimistic that a new bill will come out of next week’s bipartisan White House health care summit.

There is widespread support among senators of both parties for a bill that includes tax credits for small businesses and the self-employed, cost-containment measures, insurance market reforms and a focus on wellness and health-promotion programs, the Maine Republican said in an interview with the AP.

“I believe members of Congress and the administration are beginning to get the message sent by Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts, and they’re hearing from their constituents that the American people want solutions and are tired of partisan gridlock and bitter rhetoric,” Collins said. “That partisan gridlock and bitter rhetoric tend to conceal there are many significant reforms both parties agree upon.”

Collins is viewed as a moderate Republicans who could help provide a middle ground in the ongoing debate over health care reform.

Next week’s summit seeks to revive President Barack Obama’s health care reform efforts, which have stalled. If the summit goes as hoped, a bill could be put together and passed within six weeks, Collins said.

“My advice to our Republican leadership is: We should view this as a good faith effort and go in there with a consensus list of provisions that we could support and that would make a difference,” she said.

Health care reform is the No. 2 issue among Americans, behind jobs, Collins said.

Any jobs bill should be targeted toward small businesses, because they’re creating the vast majority of new jobs these days, Collins said.

She expects a new jobs bill to be taken up on the Senate floor next week, but she would rather resurrect a bipartisan jobs bill that Senate Democrats scrapped last week.

“It was a good bill and it would have passed easily,” Collins said.

As the federal stimulus spending economic package enters its second year, Collins said it clearly has resulted in new jobs based on conversations she’s had with business owners in Maine.

“There’s no doubt in my mind the Recovery Act has created and saved jobs,” she said. “But clearly more needs to be done. The current unemployment rate is far too high and the next bill needs more of a focus on stimulating the small-business sector.”

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