COLLINS NAMED RANKING MEMBER OF FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE

Senator Collins was selected to serve on this powerful committee earlier this year. In addition, she will remain Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and as a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Select Senate Committee on Aging.

Senator Collins' subcommittee assignments are as follows:

- Financial Services and General Government, Ranking Member
o Provides funding for numerous government agencies, many related to financial management and oversight, including:
? Small Business Administration
? Securities and Exchange Commission
? Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
? Consumer Products Safety Commission
? Government Services Administration
- Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
o Determines funding of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and construction under the Department of Defense
- Transportation, Housing, and Related Agencies
o Provides funding for agencies under the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
o Appropriates for programs in the Department of Agriculture, including agricultural research, food stamps, and rural development
- Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
o Primarily oversees funding of agencies under the Department of the Interior, including national parks

"As our nation's financial system is in a crisis, my role as Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government is now more important than ever. I will be afforded a much greater input of how funding is allocated to our nation's financial regulators. As a former Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation for the State of Maine, I welcome the opportunity to reform our country's financial regulatory system and to determine what funding levels are required. Given the importance of small business to Maine's economy, I also look forward to ensuring that the SBA has sufficient funds to help small businesses start up, grow, and create good jobs.

"My other subcommittee roles will also allow me to have greater input on funding of priorities that are important to Mainers, such as shipbuilding, transportation infrastructure, and veterans' care, while also giving me the ability to continue pressing for the elimination of wasteful spending that exacerbates our federal deficit."