It continues to be my great honor and privilege to represent the people of Maine in the United States Senate. This is a responsibility that I both enjoy and take very seriously. Mainers are known for their strong values and work ethic. They hold their elected officials to these same high standards, and rightfully so.
That is one reason why I take so seriously my obligation to be in the Senate Chamber to cast my vote when a roll call vote is underway. As we begin the 112th Congress, I am the longest, currently serving, member to have never missed a roll call vote, casting 4,563 consecutive roll call votes. I have done this while also returning to Maine on weekends to meet with my constituents, visit communities and schools throughout our state, and spend time at my home in Bangor.
As a new Congress begins, I'd like to share some of my successes on behalf of the people of Maine over the past year.
Creating jobs and strengthening our economy remain our nation's most pressing challenges. Far too many families and individuals throughout Maine and our nation still suffer from a sluggish economy and high unemployment. That is why it was so vital for Congress to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief laws. I strongly supported a two-year extension because, as so many small business owners in Maine told me, allowing these laws to expire would have resulted in one of the largest tax increases in our nation's history and could well have plunged our economy deeper into recession.
After years of repeated but unsuccessful attempts by the Maine delegation to address the federal truck weights law, I authored a successful truck weights pilot program in 2009 that was in effect for one year. The pilot program permitted trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine's federal interstates, where these trucks belong, rather than being diverted to secondary roads, through small communities, downtown areas, and school zones. The benefits have been evident: improved safety, lower costs, reduced energy use, and lessened emissions. I was disappointed that the U.S. House of Representatives failed to take action either to extend the pilot program or to make it permanent. Making the truck weights program permanent will be one of my top priorities this year and will be the first bill I introduce in the new Congress.
My efforts to counter the smuggling of illegal drugs across the Canadian border into Maine and vice versa were advanced when the President signed the "Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act." I was the lead Republican sponsor of this law, which requires the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a counternarcotics strategy similar to that of the Southwestern border in collaboration with our Canadian partners.
Former Senator Evan Bayh and I authored a law that establishes a new Advisory Council to develop a national plan for combating Alzheimer's disease. For the first time, this law charges federal agencies to develop a strategy to advance efforts to fight this devastating disease.
As far too many people know, Alzheimer's disease inflicts pain and hardship on families, and costs Medicare and Medicaid billions, yet our nation has been lacking a national strategy to focus on this disease.
Maine's natural resource industries are essential to our prosperity. Last October, the entire Maine Delegation testified at an International Trade Commission hearing that resulted in a ruling that Chinese and Indonesian paper companies had been engaging in illegal trade that is unfair to our domestic industry. And, during the debate on the Food Safety Modernization Act, I successfully advocated for an amendment, backed by Maine's small and organic farmers, to protect our small farms from excessive regulation.
In my ongoing efforts to save jobs in Maine, I succeeded in convincing the EPA to rework regulations known as "boiler MACT" in a manner that protects the environment and public health without jeopardizing jobs in the forest products industry. I also authored successful legislation to provide small contractors more time to comply with EPA lead-based paint regulations. The high fines for non-compliance would have put many small contractors in Maine out of business.
Working with the University of Maine, I helped advance the development of deep water, off-shore wind energy. Last summer, Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited UMaine at my request, which resulted in an announcement that the Department would dedicate $20 million to develop and test deepwater offshore wind technologies. UMaine remains on the cutting edge of this work, which has the potential to create 15,000 jobs.
I secured funding for a number of important transportation projects in 2010. For example, following my request, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the Department would award $10.5 million for Maine's effort to save freight railroad service in Northern Maine, and $20 million for the rehabilitation of the Memorial Bridge between Kittery and Portsmouth.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I worked to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the resources and support they need to protect our freedom. In 2010, I supported efforts to improve health care and other services for our military personnel and veterans, and authored key provisions to strengthen our national defense by supporting the vital work at Bath Iron Works, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Pratt & Whitney, the Maine Military Authority, and other Maine industries. Following my letter last year to the President's top budget official urging him to include increased funding for the DDG-51 program in next year's budget, Defense Secretary Gates recently announced that the Pentagon would seek an additional DDG-51 in its five-year budget.
The 112th Congress will bring extraordinary challenges as we work to improve the economy, lower the unemployment rate, seek ways to reduce federal spending to bring the federal debt under control, and debate a host of other important issues. Our future accomplishments will require bipartisan teamwork. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Maine and to casting my 5,000th vote.