WATERVILLE, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said she thinks legislation she’s working on that would codify Roe v. Wade in federal law while allowing states to enact restrictions after a fetus is considered viable represents an approach that most Americans can get behind.
She made the remarks Friday after an event celebrating a downtown revitalization project in Waterville that Collins helped fund by securing a $7.4 million federal grant.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Bangor Daily News, Collins discussed abortion rights, the failure of a so-called red wave to materialize during midterm elections earlier this month, what she hopes to be able to accomplish over the next two years of divided government in Washington, D.C., and former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid to recapture the White House.
Following is a transcript of the Collins interview, with slight edits for clarity.
BDN: The Senate advanced your bill to codify protections for same-sex marriage. And it even received 12 Republican votes, correct?
Collins: That’s right. We were able to get 62 votes. It takes 60 votes in order to pass a bill and get past any filibuster in the Senate, so I was thrilled that we had strong bipartisan support for a bill that I think is really important to many same-sex couples and also couples who are all in interracial marriages as well.
I want to ask you: you’re going to be headed toward another year in the Senate minority with divided government in Washington. What are you hoping to get done over the next two years?
I think there’s a lot of work to be done. I will have the position of vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. That is the most powerful committee in the Senate, and it has jurisdiction over so much federal spending.
I’ve already met with the chairwoman, [Washington U.S. Sen.] Patty Murray, and we’ve started to chart out a course for the year. I hope that we can come up with bills that are bipartisan and better enacted on time, for the most part, so we don’t have a situation where the government is not funded and the fiscal year begins.
Priorities for me will be further building on increases for biomedical research, focusing on rural development, expanding access to child care and strengthening our Navy. I’m very concerned about the Biden administration’s cut of the defense budget given that naval experts say we should have a far bigger naval fleet than we do now.
You spent the Sunday before Election Day campaigning for GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. Why weren’t you on the trail this year for Maine Republicans?
Well, first of all, I did endorse Paul LePage in his quest to be governor again. He did not ask me to campaign with him. I also give considerable funds to the state Republican Party and to individual candidates for the Legislature who were running on the Republican ticket.
There wasn’t any discussion about you ever campaigning with former Gov. LePage?
He never requested that I do so. He requested that I endorse him, and I did so right at the beginning of his campaign.
There were few bright spots for Republicans in this month’s election, with former Gov. Paul LePage losing badly after poor performances in the suburbs. In the 2nd District, Bruce Poliquin did not win. What should members of your party in Maine take away from this election?
Well, I think there are national implications that played into the elections in Maine and elsewhere. As you know, there were some predictions that there would be a red wave, and that did not occur. It did not occur in Maine, but it didn’t occur nationwide.
I think that it’s always valuable to step back and look at what we could do better, how we can be more inclusive, how we can reach out more to young voters and to independents.
If you look at the statistics nationwide, and I suspect in Maine it’s true as well, we did not do as well with the independents as we usually do. And so, I think we need to take a look and try to figure out why that is, at a time of record-high gas prices, out-of-sight inflation and spiraling costs of groceries.
You’ve always run as a proud, pro-choice Republican. Do you think that’s something that the Republican Party could moderate on, and what would that moderation look like?
The Republican Party should take a look at the issue. As a pro-choice Republican, I have respect for people who don’t share my views on this issue, and I think we need to go back to what I would say are traditional Republican principles of respecting the right of individuals to make their own decisions when it comes to such an intensely personal decision.
That doesn’t mean, however, that I support the right for a woman to have an abortion in the eighth month of pregnancy, for example. I think most Americans are in favor of reasonable restrictions, and I think that is definitely being looked at — what is happening in many states.
I have introduced, with Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine [of Virginia], a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade and put it into federal law and that would still allow states to enact restrictions after viability and also have parental consent. I think that’s where most Americans are.
Do you think that bill could pass the next Congress?
I certainly hope so. I was pleased that it was recently endorsed by the Washington Post, which said it was a reasonable approach to the issue and one that should be enacted. So, we’ll see.