Sen. Susan Collins
Senator for Maine
pronounced SOO-zun // KAH-linz
Collins is the senior senator from Maine and is a Republican. She has served since Jan 7, 1997. Collins is next up for reelection in 2026 and serves until Jan 3, 2027. She is 71 years old.
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Collins.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Collins is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Collins has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to May 9, 2024. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Susan Collins sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Appropriations
Ranking Member
- Defense subcommittee Ranking Member
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Legislative Branch, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittees -
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittees
- Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Enacted Legislation
Collins was the primary sponsor of 51 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 4573 (117th): Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022
- S. 557 (117th): Native Plant Species Pilot Program Act of 2022
- S. 1828 (117th): HAVANA Act of 2021
- S. 1714 (117th): HAVANA Act of 2021
- S. 1272 (117th): SIMPLE Plan Modernization Act
- S. 723 (117th): PPP Extension Act of 2021
- S. 3703 (116th): Promoting Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act
Does 51 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Collins sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (30%) Education (18%) Commerce (12%) Armed Forces and National Security (9%) International Affairs (8%) Government Operations and Politics (8%) Energy (7%) Taxation (7%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Collins recently introduced the following legislation:
- S. 4251: A bill to establish a payment program for unexpected loss of markets and …
- S.Res. 584: A resolution designating March 7, 2024, as “National Slam the Scam Day” to …
- S.Res. 568: A resolution designating the week of February 26 through March 1, 2024, as …
- S. 3775: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the BOLD …
- S.Res. 489: A resolution designating December 16, 2023, as “National Wreaths Across America Day”.
- S. 3336: Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act
- S. 3326: A bill to improve access to opioid use disorder treatment services under the …
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1997 to May 2024, Collins missed 0 of 9,005 roll call votes, which is 0.0%. This is better than the median of 2.8% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills