First elected in 1996, Senator Collins has earned a national reputation as an effective legislator
who works across party lines to seek consensus on our nation’s most important issues. She was
reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. In 2020, she made history by becoming the first-ever
Republican woman in the nation to win a fifth term. She is also the first popularly elected U.S.
Senator from Maine to be elected to a fifth term. She is the seventh-most senior member of the
Senate and the most senior Republican woman. She is the first Republican woman to Chair the
Appropriations Committee.
As the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Susan Collins employs her
influence, seniority, and experience to benefit the people of Maine and America. The committee
has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending for the federal government. Senator Collins first
joined the Appropriations Committee in 2009. In the 118th Congress, she served as Vice Chair
of the full Committee and Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriation Subcommittee.
In addition to her role on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is a member of the
Intelligence Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. She was
formerly the Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Aging Committee.
Throughout her Senate service, Maine’s senior U.S. Senator has worked with members of both
parties to advance landmark legislation to improve the lives of all Americans. Early in her
tenure, Senator Collins led the fight with Senator Dick Durbin to repeal a $50 billion tax break
for the tobacco industry. In 2004, she and Senator Joe Lieberman co-authored a law that
overhauled the nation’s intelligence community, improving its effectiveness while protecting
civil liberties. She was the lead Republican in the successful effort to repeal the discriminatory
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in December 2010. Her leadership was instrumental in ending
the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013 as well as the shutdown in February 2018.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Senator Collins co-authored the Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP), which was a lifeline to millions of small businesses across the country
and saved tens of millions of jobs. Her more than two decades of work to repeal unfair
provisions of the Social Security Act culminated in January 2025 when the Social Security
Fairness Act she co-authored was signed into law, restoring earned Social Security benefits for
millions of Americans.
Since entering the Senate, Senator Collins has remained dedicated to strengthening American
health care and biomedical research. In 1997, she founded the Senate Diabetes Caucus and led
the effort in Congress to more than triple federal funding for diabetes research. As the founder
and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, she has worked to
increase funding for Alzheimer’s research and to strengthen support for family caregivers. She
has championed legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs and launched the Senate’s first
bipartisan investigation into the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to egregious insulin
price increases. In the 118th Congress, 1,868 standalone health care bills were introduced in both
chambers of Congress. Of these, only 15 were signed into law, and five of those bills were
introduced or coauthored by Senator Collins.
Senator Collins received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Congressional Medal of
Honor Society for her work to support veterans. In 2023, she received the Naval Heritage
Award—the Navy’s highest public service award—from the Secretary of the Navy for her
tireless advocacy of shipbuilding programs. In 2024, she was selected by the British
Broadcasting Corporation for its annual list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around
the world. In January 2025, Senator Collins was awarded the Army Distinguished Public Service
Medal, the highest public service recognition awarded by the U.S. Army, in recognition of her
support for the Army through her leadership on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the
Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
She has repeatedly been ranked as the most bipartisan member of the U.S. Senate by the Lugar
Center and Georgetown University. Known for her Maine work ethic, Senator Collins is the first
Senator in history to have cast 9,000 votes without ever having missed a vote throughout her
entire Senate service.
