Category: Maine
Veterans’ Lobby Michaud’s Committee for the 2007 Budget
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 – Veterans’ organizations made their pitch Thursday for more money for the Veterans Affairs Department to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on which Rep. Michael Michaud (D-2 nd ) serves.
The Bush Administration has asked for $80.6 billion for the fiscal year 2007 for the department, an $8.8 billion increase over this year. The department’s health care budget would rise 11.3 percent next year to $34.3 billion.
Many Democrats, including Rep. Bob Filner of California, complained that this fell far short of fulfilling veterans’ needs. Another $4 billion would be needed, Filner said, to satisfy veterans’ needs across the country.
Michaud said that his office was looking into what the proposed budget will mean for Maine.
“My big concern is that they’re moving monies around. We’ve heard that there is going to be a shortage in a lot of divisions,” Michaud said. “And we’re currently keeping a close eye on what it means to Maine and making sure that we have plenty not only to adequately fund programs but also to try to get the clinics .. up and running as well.”
Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) said he was not worried about any shortfalls in the 2007 budget. “What I’ve learned in the years in which Republicans have been in the majority, whatever the benchmark is that we set, the Democrats will have the theme that it isn’t enough,” he said. “It isn’t just with veterans’ benefits; it could be with education, it could be with Medicare, it could be with Medicaid.”
During the hearing Buyer said that Michaud was “a very valued member of the committee” and was in sharp contrast to Filner, whom the chairman occasionally bickered with during the hearing.
“Mr. Michaud is sincere and he’s engaging and he is substantive,” Buyer said.
Among the shortfalls, according to some critics, are a plan to impose a $250 enrollment fee on higher-income, non-disabled veterans seeking Veterans Affairs medical benefits. The administration also wants to increase the co-payment on prescription drug benefits from $8 to $15 per monthly prescription.
According to several witnesses at the hearing, the VA estimates that these charges would discourage 200,000 veterans from seeking health care coverage for the first time and force more than one million current enrollees to drop out.
Michaud, in a statement after the hearing, called the enrollment fee and the co-payment plan “a non-starter” and said he will oppose the higher charges.
He also said he was “concerned with potential funding shortfalls at facilities around the country. Last year, many facilities, including Togus [Medical Center], were forced to borrow, put off hiring or tap into capital accounts to maintain medical services. And ultimately, Congress had to pass emergency supplemental funding for the VA of over $1 billion.” “It is my hope that the VA has given us a full account of their needs this year, so we will not experience a similar budget mess this year that would require another supplemental,” Michaud said in the statement.
The majority of the groups that testified Thursday, including the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Association of Service Disabled Veterans, were in favor of mandatory spending for the VA. Though Bush is seeking an increase for 2007, that is not always the case, and the VA budget is subject to cuts, like most other agency budgets, according to witnesses.
Another major issue that the committee will be tackling is a reform of the GI Bill, which helped to expand the middle class after World War II by paying for veterans to attend college . However, the bill does not give the same benefits to members of the Reserve and National Guard. With a large number of reservists and National Guard members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is becoming an issue that both sides of the aisle are getting behind. Both Michaud and Buyer said they support the extension of benefits…
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AP Scores on the Rise Nation-Wide
APSCORES
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/12/06
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Students in Maine and across the country improved their performance on Advanced Placement exams last year, leading an increasing number to graduate high school with college credit, according to a report released last week.
AP classes enable high school students to earn college credit in 37 subject areas, with many colleges offering credit for exam scores of 3 or higher out of a possible 5. The courses span the academic year and culminate with an exam in May.
Kimberly Johnston, senior associate director of admissions at the University of Maine, said the university typically awards credit for scores of 3 or above, though standards vary depending on the course.
“AP courses are part of what we consider when we’re looking at the rigor of a student’s curriculum,” Johnston said. “But, we certainly do not require any [AP course work].”
In Maine last year, 3,048 members of the 2006 class took an AP exam while in high school, up from 1,809 in 2000, according to a report released last week by The College Board, a non-profit association focused on college admissions and exams.
In 2006 in Maine, 14.4 percent earned a score of 3 or higher on exams during their high school career, whereas in 2000 only 10.1 percent scored 3 or higher. Nationwide in 2006, 14.8 percent earned a score of 3 or higher.
“All 50 states and the District of Columbia increased the percentage of students who succeeded in AP courses,” Gaston Caperton, president of The College Board, said at a press conference.
Currently, 112 public high schools out of 123 in Maine offer the advanced courses, said David Connerty-Marin, communications director for the Maine Department of Education.
In 2006, the state eliminated the existing equity gap among American Indian students taking AP exams, a goal previously accomplished among the Hispanic student population in 2000 and again last year.
However, AP participation among black students remains below the national average, according to data from the Maine Department of Education.
Phil Pratt, associate director of institutional studies at the University of Maine, said the number of students who entered the university with sophomore standing rose from 2005 to 2006 due to AP credit and other college course-work.
“In the fall of 2005, we had 19 new first-time freshmen who were able to start as sophomores,” Pratt said, “In the fall of 2006, that number grew to 28 [students].”
About 20 percent of the university’s first-year students entered the school with some form of AP credit last year, he said.
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Maine College Republicans Visit the District
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 - Maine College Republicans have come to Washington in force this weekend to take part in the Conservative Political Action Conference. The 104 Maine students represent the largest delegation at the conference.
"It's really a great opportunity for our members to get to know each other and also other College Republicans from throughout the country," said Nate Walton, the chairman of the Maine College Republicans for the past seven months.
Walton said Maine brought such a large delegation to the Capital partly because the organization is strong but also because 2006 is a crucial election year back home, with Democratic Gov. John Baldacci in a tenuous position and Democrats controlling the state House of Representatives by only a single vote..
The delegation includes students from all over the state, from Bowdoin to Husson to the University of Maine at Presque Isle. All 104 students got a quick meet-and-greet and a photo on the Capitol steps with Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. Collins echoed Walton's desires for a party switch in both branches of state government.
The American Conservative Union hosts this annual gathering, the largest of conservative activists in the country. The Maine students will get to sit through speeches by Vice President Dick Cheney, United Nations Ambassador John Bolton and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
It is a cliché that college students are predominantly liberal, and in most colleges liberal thinking dominates the student body and the faculty. Walton said that such liberal dominance has served only to make his organization stronger.
"I think that one of the reasons that our organization is so strong is that we are constantly being challenged on views and being questioned about them," he said. "It really makes our members know what they believe in very strongly, and we're here to fight for those values."
Shanna Moody, a 20-year-old physical therapy student from Husson College, said she had some problems last semester with her ethics teacher, whose teachings leaned to the left a little too much for Moody's liking.
"She would just make comments like she contrasted Republicans and vegetarians," Moody said. "I was like, eh, what does that mean?"
Husson's administration is fairly GOP friendly, according to Jared Grover, the vice president of the Husson College Republicans. Grover said the college's president, William H. Beardsley, is very supportive.
"Our president is a strong conservative, a nice guy, really encouraging, and he really backs us," said the 27-year-old LaGrange native. "Every time I talk to him he asks how things how are going and what we're going to be doing."
According to members of its College Republicans organization, the University of Maine at Presque Isle is less supportive of conservatives on campus. Though the chapter received financial aid from the student senate for the trip to Washington, the more liberal students often pose a challenge.
"Our signs are taken down and Democrats obviously hate us, but you know that's natural," said Tyler Clark, a 20-year-old Easton native who is majoring in business management.
Clark joked that despite some problems with campus Democrats there had not been any "death threats or anything."
"Not yet," interjected Brandon Marquis, the vice chairman of the Presque Isle College Republicans and Clark's hometown friend.
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Maine Delegation Outlines Their Positions on Wiretapping
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- President Bush's domestic wiretapping program has stirred up a lot of controversy, and the Maine congressional delegation has doubts about the program's legality.
"Revelations that the U.S. government has conducted domestic electronic surveillance without express legal authority indeed warrants congressional examination," Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a statement after the program became known about in December. "I believe the Congress - as a coequal branch of government - must immediately and expeditiously review the use of this practice."
Sen. Snowe and four Senate Democrats sent a letter at the end of last year encouraging the Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence to hold hearings.
The Judiciary Committee started its hearings Monday with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifying. The intelligence committee is scheduled to hold a closed hearing on Thursday.
Snowe, a member of the intelligence committee, said she looked forward to learning more about the legal justifications for the National Security Agency's program at Thursday's hearing. "The NSA's domestic electronic surveillance program raises profound questions about the executive branch's authority as it pursues our enemies in the war on terror," she said in a statement Tuesday.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also is in favor of bringing the issue to Capitol Hill with hearings.
"There is no question that there are terrorists that want to strike our country, and it is important that the Administration have the authority to use all the tools necessary to detect those plots," Collins said in a statement. "It is also important, however, that we have in place a system of checks and balances to ensure that our efforts to protect Americans from terrorist attack do not infringe upon our personal liberties."
Rep. Michael Michaud, D-2 nd District, also supports the Senate hearings, and said he believes the administration had plenty of tools within the existing law to defend the country.
"While I share the President's commitment to securing our country from those who wish to do us harm, I firmly believe that our surveillance programs must be conducted within the law," Michaud said in a statement. "Our law and intelligence communities need the necessary tools to ensure that critical information is obtained that would help prevent future attacks. However, we have legal safeguards in place, including the FISA Court, that exist to ensure that we can gather intelligence in a lawful way. We should not be circumventing these safeguards."
The secret court was created under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Rep. Tom Allen, D-1 st District, said he welcomes the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation. "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' defense of the program was evasive and incomplete," Allen said of Gonzales' appearance before the committee on Monday. "Further and broader investigation is clearly needed."
"The law is clear: the National Security Agency cannot conduct surveillance of Americans' foreign communications without a court-approved warrant," Allen said in a statement Tuesday. "The President's program of warrant-less surveillance may violate basic Fourth Amendment rights and has troubling consequences for our democracy. The Constitution forbids any government official, including the President, from waiving or ignoring fundamental liberties as a matter of convenience or policy."
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The House Votes to Cut Social Spending
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1-Both Maine Representatives joined all of their fellow Democrats Wednesday in voting against the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. But supporters of the bill narrowly prevailed, 216 to 214.
The act will cut over five years $39 billion in social programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and student loans. There is also a $56 billion tax cut bill pending, which Democrats say effectively cancels out the savings from the Deficit Reduction Act.
The new law will cut $12.7 billion from federal student aid at a time when college is not getting any cheaper. The average student leaves school with $17,500 in debt.
The House had approved a nearly identical version of the bill in December by six votes, with Maine Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen voting against it. The Senate passed the bill on Nov. 13 by 52-47, with both Maine senators voting against it.. "The House is about to consider a proposal that is one of the worst that I have seen in my years so far in Congress," Michaud said in a statement before the House vote. "They call this bill the Deficit Reduction Act, but that is nothing short of a deception; $38 billion in budget cuts, combined with $56 billion in tax cuts, means a $17 billion increase in the deficit."
Of the $12.7 billion in student aid cuts, some $9 billion will take the form of higher interest rates. Rep. Allen said that President Bush and his party were sending a very different message from the one enunciated Tuesday, when the President, in his State of the Union speech, said this country needed to stay competitive with India and China in a new world market. "I think if you're concerned about international competition, you don't start by making it harder for young people going to college," Allen said.
The Campaign for America's Future, a liberal non-profit organization that pushes for "progressive social change," said in a statement that a Department of Education study showed that some 4.4 million students over the next decade would be unable to attend four-year public universities for lack of funds. During the same period, some two million students would be unable to attend any post-secondary education facility. By 2020, this will lead to a shortage nationally of 12 million college-educated workers. The new law will cost Maine college students an additional $1,799 a year, according to the Campaign for America's Future.
"This bill will make it harder for students from working families to go to college," said Robert Borosage, the organization's co-director. "This measure makes deep and harmful cuts to student loans that will not even pay for the new tax breaks planned for the wealthy." Michaud and Allen agreed that there are better ways to reduce the budget deficit than by cutting health and education programs.
"We desperately need to restore a sense of fiscal discipline in our nation's capital," Michaud said in a statement. "Not only will this budget plan balloon a federal debt that has already passed $8 trillion-the equivalent of $27,000 for every man, woman and child in the country-but it also contains devastating cuts to programs that are important to Mainers."
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Maine Delegation: Where the Money Comes From
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26-No members of the Maine congressional delegation accepted money from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But they have raised considerable campaign funds from industry and labor political action committees.
Abramoff has plead guilty to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a deal that requires him to provide testimony against unnamed members of Congress. His indictment has sparked a flurry of activity aimed at overhauling the rules for lobbyists' interactions with Congress.
"I think our delegation is not as influenced by their donors because their seats are relatively safe," said associate professor of political science James Melcher at the University of Maine Farmington.
Sen. Susan Collins, as the chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is in charge of examining the reform proposals now before the Senate.
"We must act to strengthen the laws governing disclosure and ban practices that erode public confidence in the integrity of government decisions," Collins said at a meeting of her committee on Wednesday.
Congress, she said, needed to limit the access to members of former members who are now lobbyists, to end the practice of lobbyists' paying for vacations that masquerade as fact-finding trips and to end the rampant abuse of earmarking, or tacking on spending for projects to unrelated bills.
In her last election, in 2002, Collins raised $4,266,392, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' Web site, opensecrets.org, which compiles records from the Federal Election Commission. Of that total, 58 percent was from individual donors, but Collins still received more than $1.5 million from political action committees.
Collins' largest contributor was MBNA Corp., the credit card giant and one of the largest employers in the state of Maine. MBNA employees and PACs donated $86,750 to her campaign. At the time, MBNA was pushing for a reform of the bankruptcy code, which would mean millions more in profits for them. President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 last year after seven failed attempts to pass similar legislation.
Collins said that she had supported bankruptcy reform for years, and with so many employees in Maine that it was no surprise that her campaign had received a lot of money from the company.
Collins has raised $68,557 this election cycle. Some $32,700 of that comes from individual donors who gave $200 or more.
Many of the senators at Wednesday's Government Affairs hearing complained that they had to travel all over the country to raise money. Senate campaigns are usually the most expensive statewide campaigns.
Unlike her junior colleague and fellow Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe is up for reelection this year. She has raised some $1,475,205 so far, according to opensecrets.org, which is based on FEC reports from Jan. 4. However, her campaign manager, Lucas Caron, said that the campaign reported $2.2 million in a more recent filing.
According to opensecrets.org, 54 percent of that came from individual donors and about 39 percent from PACs.
Snowe has raised $756,131 from individual contributions of $200 or more, with 36 percent of that from Maine donors. Caron said many non-Mainers respect Snowe for her moderate stance and bipartisan approach to politics and give money to her campaign.
Opensecrets.org reports that the insurance and finance industry PACs were the largest donors, contributing more than $100,000 through last October,. including $6,500 from MBNA.
Caron said that PACs generally donate to candidates whom they agree with on the issues. Snowe, as a fiscal conservative, votes in ways that the insurance and finance industries like.
As for lobbying reform, Sen. Snowe has signed onto Sen. John McCain's bill, which calls for more disclosure of lobbying activities.
Maine's two Democratic House members also are pushing for lobbying reform. Rep. Michael Michaud of the Second District has co-sponsored bills that would eliminate lobbyist-sponsored travel, investigate ethics lapses and require that members be able to review legislation for at least 24 hours before it is voted on. Recently the leadership has pushed some bills through after midnight and without any advance notice.
"Honest leadership is not a partisan goal," Michaud said in a statement. "It is the key to a stronger country and a value that we all share, and that we should all expect from our government."
Rep. Tom Allen of the First District co-sponsored the Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act of 2005 with Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.).
Michaud's campaign had raised $228,890 as of Jan.4, with about 72.2 percent if it from PACs, according to opensecrets.org. Monica Castellanos of his office said that historically contributions move more toward individual donations by Election Day. In 2004, 41 percent of his campaign money was from individuals, and in 2002 it was 46 percent.
Labor has given his campaign $75,000 so far, or 54 percent of his total PAC contributions. Michaud is a member of the United Steel Workers (the USW PAC has donated $1,000 to his campaign), which mergedwith the Paper, Allied-Industrial Chemical and Energy Workers International Union . Michaud worked at the Great Northern Paper Company in Millinocket for 30 years.
Michaud has received $43,250 in individuals donations of $200 or more this election cycle, with 75 percent of that money from Maine.
Rep. Allen also has received a lot of money from labor: $41,000 for this election, or 57 percent of his total PAC contributions, according to opensecrets.org.
Allen has raised $210,447 this election, with 59 percent from individuals. Of the individual contributions of $200 or more, 81 percent are from Maine.
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Bird Flu Threatens Maine’s Brown Egg Industry
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - When the port of Shanghai first opened to foreign shipping in 1843, American sailing ships traveling from Boston to China for silk and spices would carry back a crate of red-, black- or cinnamon-colored chickens to provide eggs or the occasional chicken dinner for the long trip home. But unlike the white or tannish-colored eggs the mariners were used to, these birds laid an egg with a rich-brown hue. In China, white symbolizes death or funerals.
New Englanders fell in love with brown eggs ? they were so much fresher than the white eggs that took so long to arrive from the mid-west ?and they eventually become a dietary staple in the region: Maine has even become the number one producer of brown eggs in the world. Brown eggs are now the third biggest agricultural product in the state.
Today, the same country that introduced brown eggs to Maine has the potential to introduce the agent that would be responsible for their demise: a highly-virulent strain of avian influenza virus known as H5N1. Avian influenza is the umbrella term for a large group of viruses that affects birds. While much attention has focused on the possibility that bird flu could endanger human lives, less has been paid to the economic consequences of an outbreak in the poultry industry in this country.
"Sadly we'd be looking at the end of our brown egg industry here in the state of Maine," if the bird flu hit, said Shelley Doak, the director of the division of animal health and industry at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources.
In 2004, egg production in Maine generated $61.4 million dollars in cash receipts, according to the New England field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Nationally, it could cause "severe damage to the poultry industry," said Dr. Mike Opitz, extension veterinarian emeritus at the University of Maine in Orono.
The value of all egg production nationwide in 2004 was $5.3 billion according to the National Agricultural Statisticas Service. Broiler chickens, turkey and egg production had a combined value in 2004 of $28.9 billion.
If the virus were found in a commercial flock, international organizations would need to be notified and U.S. poultry exports would be banned. Over the last decade exports have represented between 10 and 15 percent of the total value of poultry and poultry products of U.S. origin, according to Agri Stats, a statistical research and analysis firm serving agribusiness companies.
"That would be killer to the poultry industry in Maine," Opitz said. But he cautioned: "We shouldn't get paranoid about it and throw a lot of money just at avian influenza. There are many other issues we have to deal with."
H5N1, or bird flu as it is commonly known, was first detected in China nine years ago in a farmed goose. Since then the virus has killed large numbers of wild birds and domestic poultry in Asia and parts of Europe. In birds, it has spread as far west as Central Europe. It may make its way to the United States in less than a year, according to Don Hoenig, Maine's state veterinarian. No cases of bird flu have been confirmed in birds or humans in the United States.
If bird flu comes to this country, it is unlikely to arrive first in Maine because the state is not traversed by any major flyways for birds, according to Opitz. However, migratory waterfowl could transmit the virus through secretions and feces. Many commercial farms have ponds where ducks or geese tend to stop, Hoenig said. Domestic chickens could come into direct contact with contaminated bird droppings. Or, farm workers carrying the virus in the form of manure on their shoes could track it back into a bird house. Trucks could transmit the virus from one farm to another. "It could come in a million different ways," Doak said.
"If you've ever been around chickens they love manure," said Dennis Avery, director of global food issues at the Hudson Institute, a non-partisan research organization that promotes global security. "They love partially digested grain."
Brown egg farmers are highly-centralized in Maine; the big commercial operations are located in close proximity to each other, for the most part in Turner, Winthrop and Leeds.
Many state officials and industry leaders agree that because of their history with other strains of avian influenza and the strict biosecurity measures in place on commercial farms ? not to mention the fact that birds are kept indoors ? commercial poultry have only a small risk of contracting H5N1 from migratory birds. But should it happen, bird flu "would most likely move quickly through the barns," Doak said. Highly virulent strains of avian influenza have the potential to kill 90 to 100 percent of a flock in two days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Once in the state, bird flu could wipe out Maine's entire brown egg industry in a matter of weeks, according Hoenig.
Even if the government paid for the lost chickens through indemnity programs, during the time farmers were out of birds, "they'd have to try to supply their market with brown eggs through some other source and there's nobody else that produces as many brown eggs as we do," Hoenig said.
"Everything in agriculture has a ripple effect," Hoenig said. There is one major feed company that provides feed for the birds and they too would suffer from the effects of bird flu. Similarly, many dairy farms rely on manure from Maine's chicken farms to fertilize their fields and their business would be affected. Then there are all the people who work indirectly with the farms, such as electricians, Hoenig said.
The commercial poultry industry is familiar with avian influenza, having battled highly pathogenic, or virulent, strains of it in Pennsylvania in 1983.
But industry and government officials say that they feel confident about the security of commercial chicken farms. Since 1998, Maine has monitored the commercial poultry industry for avian influenza by testing a percentage of birds in a flock prior to the birds going out to slaughter, Hoenig said. The state also conducts sick-bird surveillance at the diagnostic laboratory in Orono. And it monitors brown-egg breeder flocks every three months. A breeder flock produces fertilized eggs that are then hatched and go on to become the new brown-egg laying hens.
David Radlo, president and CEO of Radlo Foods, an organic and commercial egg producer based in Watertown, Mass., with commercial brown egg farms in Leeds and Turner, Maine, said he is not concerned about the threat of bird flu because of the rigorous safety protocols already in place. "We are prepared as we can be and we continue to be vigilant," Radlo said. "This is our livelihood."
In the poultry industry methods to secure hen houses from disease are known as "biosecurity." A "biosecure" farm is likely to have a fence around it to regulate comings and goings, a protocol to disinfect vehicles coming onto the farm and a policy mandating workers wear protective clothing, such as coveralls, boots and hats. Poultry houses also are usually kept locked.
Dennis Bowden has a mid-sized commercial brown egg farm in Waldoboro with 10,000 layers. He protects the hens from disease by not allowing outside visitors. Anyone who walks into the hen house has to walk through a sponge soaked with a disinfectant to sanitize their shoes. Bowden said he also puts chicken wire up on the eves of the henhouse to prevent wild birds from nesting there.
But some poultry experts and industry members are concerned about the growing number of organic farmers. To be certified organic, poultry farmers must allow their fowl some degree of outdoor access, according to Barbara Haumann, senior writer at the Organic Trade Association. Being out of doors may make the animals more likely to have contact with migratory waterfowl droppings than indoor commercial birds.
In 2003 there were 1.6 million organic layer hens in the nation, up from roughly 44,000 in 1992. There were 6.3 million broilers in 2003, up from about 17,000 in 1992, according to the economic research service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Organic poultry sales in the United States as a whole are projected to grow 33 percent each year from 2004 to 2008.
Radlo's chickens have outdoor access. However, the birds are screened off with fences and netting so they cannot come into contact with migratory waterfowl, said William Bell, general manager for the New England Brown Egg Council. Radlo Foods is a member of the council.
"Tell me how a net is going to prevent wild bird droppings from infecting an outdoor poultry flock," the Hudson Institute's Avery said.
The previous cases of avian influenza in the United States have all occurred in confinement flocks, said Jim Riddle, immediate past chair of the National Organic Standards Board, a Department of Agriculture advisory board that reviews and approves substances that can be used in organic farming. More research is needed on how susceptible outdoor birds really are to H5N1 before making any decision about how effective nets are in keeping out disease, he said.
In Maine, there are only about 20 or 30 organic poultry farmers, but there are hundreds of "backyard farmers" who raise anywhere from two to 100 chickens, often outdoors, to use for broilers, eggs or to compete in shows.
Unlike commercial poultry, backyard poultry do not receive any testing for disease. Interstate regulations that apply to larger commercial farmers also do not affect them, Doak said.
Backyard farms are "irresponsible," Radlo said, adding: "You're asking me: 'Where do I think the outbreak is going to occur?' And I'm telling you it's in backyard flocks."
State Veterinarian Hoenig has a backyard flock. "How much risk are my 11 or 12 backyard hens to get [bird flu] and spread it? Very, very minimal right now," he said. Still, Hoenig acknowledged that the H5N1 threat might rise next year when migratory waterfowl could fly into the United States down the flyways.
The Department of Agriculture has discussed implementing new testing of backyard farms, but decided it does not have the resources for it. However, in recent months the department has escalated communications with the poultry industry about biosecurity, had more contact with backyard farmers through Maine's Alternative Poultry Association, and met with other state agencies involved in influenza planning. Currently the state only monitors wild birds for West Nile virus, but it is establishing a protocol to monitor wild birds for avian influenza.
Nationally, the United States does not import poultry products from Southeast Asia.
If H5N1 appeared in Maine, the state's instant management and emergency response teams would go into action, along with special, federal animal inspection teams, Hoenig said.
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture could also declare a state of emergency and allocate emergency funds.
"We'd probably have a lot of people coming in here from all across the country helping out," Hoenig said.
Opitz said that the U.S. and Maine departments of agriculture worked well together in 2002 to handle the low pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in Warren. But when asked how well prepared the nation and state would be for H5N1, he was less sure.
"I don't have a good feel for how effectively, with the available means, we really could deal with that," he said.
Areas where the state is vulnerable, Opitz said, include auctions, places to go to buy live poultry, and live bird markets, places where a person can purchase poultry and then have it slaughtered onsite. Live bird markets have been a cause for concern among national experts because of the many species that come together potentially leading to the spread of disease from contaminated equipment, vehicles or people coming back from live bird markets
There are no live bird markets in Maine, but many of the state's "spent layers," or hens past their laying prime, are sent to live bird markets in other states such as New York or Boston. Hoenig said that his office has worked closely with the individuals who are involved in the markets, meeting with them and talking about reducing the risks.
Last November, President Bush issued a proposal requesting $7.1 billion in emergency funding from Congress to prepare the nation for and protect it from pandemic influenza. Under the plan the states would receive $100 million collectively to help them revise and test their state's emergency avian influenza response plan. The money has not yet been approved by Congress.
"If they pass the president's initiative that would be a big help," Hoenig said. "If we actually get some money we [could] actually hire somebody to do what Shelley Doak and I have been trying to do for the past couple of years and that is sit down and update these plans."
"You're talking about three million birds or more," Hoenig said. "It's a huge logistical issue."
Frenetic Days for Sen. Susan Collins are Just a Way of Life
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 - Sen. Susan Collins typically wakes up at about 6:45 a.m., is in the office by 8:30, and often does not leave until after eight at night. She takes a thick briefing book home with her and works for another two hours before plunking down to bed at about midnight.
"There are times when I look at the size of the briefing book and I groan because I know it's going to be a late night," she says.
"The volume of work, particularly now that I'm chair of a major committee, is huge and it requires constant work to keep up," she says. "There's generally no time in the day to do it."
What is a typical day on Capitol Hill for Maine's junior senator? Collins agreed to be followed by a reporter on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Collins knows the halls of Congress better than her staffers do. Her frenetic daily schedule is reflected in the swift pace at which she walks. And she thrives on her demanding schedule.
9:50 a.m.
Sen. Collins has already attended a breakfast on the House side, cleaned out her briefing book, and prepared for today's hearing of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which she chairs.
After the hearing, there are back-to-back constituent meetings and then floor votes. Tonight she will attend a dinner about U.S. competitiveness that will go until nine. Collins, who has gone to a dinner every night this week, was hoping to skip the one, but, she says, after Majority Leader Bill Frist sent her a personal email encouraging her to go there really was no other choice.
Collins has homes in both Bangor and Washington. In Washington she lives a 10-minute walk from the Capitol in a townhouse with one room per floor and the kitchen in the basement. Her friends call it "the doll's house," she says, because it is so small. On weekends she commutes ? sometimes it takes up to five hours ? to her home in Bangor, always traveling back on Sunday rather than Monday to make sure not to miss a vote if a flight is delayed.
Soon it is time to leave for the hearing and she hustles down the halls of the Dirksen Senate office building.
Collins is part of a walking club with Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Thursday mornings at 7 a.m. they walk from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and back. Trying to get into shape, Collins says, has led her to join a women's-only gym in the Senate, where she walks on the treadmill and lifts weights.
Just prior to the hearing, the seventh in a series investigating the government's poor planning and response to the disaster, Collins greets the witnesses ? executives from the private sector ? in the small room behind the hearing area. They will testify today about how their companies prepared and responded to Hurricane Katrina more effectively than the government.
Collins, wearing a deep purple suit with black velvet trim around the collar, a thick silver chain around her neck and low-heeled black pumps, soon has the male executives laughing.
"I even had someone at the Department of Homeland Security concede that Wal-Mart saved more lives than FEMA and the Red Cross combined," Collins says after the two-hour hearing has concluded, her heels clip-clopping hurriedly back to her office.
Noon
"Oooooh."
Sen. Collins is genuinely surprised when she is greeted upon her return to her office by a large bouquet of colorful flowers. "Now, I have no idea where these gorgeous flowers came from."
Her excitement drops a barely-noticeable notch after silently reading the card, as if for a moment she might have been hoping for something more interesting.
A group of former Merchant Marines known as the Just Compensation Committee was obviously pleased with how Collins co-sponsored a bill to have Merchant Marines who were deployed during World War II receive veterans benefits.
Collins needs to prepare for a 12:30 luncheon with executives from Maine-based New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., which is the last remaining athletic shoe maker in United States. But she always seems to have a few minutes to chat.
Collins has two cars: a green 1998 Honda Accord that she drives while in D.C. and a white 1997 Subaru Outback that she uses in Maine. "I tend to drive my cars until they die," she says. "Some of my friends would say I'm overly frugal."
On one side of her office is what Collins calls her "Heroes Wall," which includes a picture of moderate Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.) who took Collins under his wing, she says, and also a signed picture of Margaret Chase Smith, Collins' role model, who served in the Senate from Maine from 1949 to 1973.
Collins now really needs to do some work.
12:25
Sen. Collins, her chief of staff and press secretary head out to her luncheon in the Capitol. Her black pumps have been replaced by New Balance running shoes that were made at the factory in Norridgewock.
The underground subway that connects the Senate office buildings to the Capitol looks like the people-mover at Epcot Center in Disney World. As the subway twists and turns, Sen. Collins talks about her favorite place to eat, the River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket. She loves the lobster-stuffed haddock and the lollipop lamb chops.
It turns out that the lunch started at noon, not 12:30. Sometimes I need a clone, she says.
We are rushing around the back halls of the Capitol, the kind of places only someone like Sen. Collins, who worked for former Sen. William Cohen for 12 years, would know about.
"Do we know where we're going?" she asks her staff as she leads the pack to the luncheon room.
"No," is the answer.
"Good job you guys," she tells her staff. "I'm the one who knows where we're going."
Collins greets the 20 or so New Balance executives, who are there to discuss trade issues. The lunch is closed so the trailing reporter is ushered outside the room with the press secretary Kevin Kelley, a former New England Cable News correspondent who reported from Portland prior to arriving in Washington just this past summer.
She's a perfectionist, Kelley says about Collins. "She is never unprepared."
1 p.m.
Sen. Collins needs to do a satellite interview from the Senate recording studios located in the basement of the Capitol at 1:40. She does not have time to return to her office in Dirksen so she heads to her "hideaway" instead. A hideaway is an office just off the Capitol dome that is awarded to senators based on their seniority. Only about 60 senators have them.
We climb the winding, spiral stairway up to the office. Inside the office the ceiling is sloped. There is a picture on the wall? taken in 1996 just after Collins had won the Republican Senate primary ? of Collins with the first President Bush and Mrs. Bush at their compound in Kennebunkport. "It was quite thrilling," she says of having lunch with the former president.
1:35
Sen. Collins is on her way to the basement of the Capitol for the interview with WAGM, a Presque Isle television station, about the future of the weather forecast station there.
1:45
The senator emerges from the interview room once again in her black pumps as the deputy press secretary ferries the New Balance running shoes back to her office in a blue gift bag.
As she walks back to her office, Collins talks about being a woman in the Senate.
Initially a female senator has to prove that she belongs here, Collins says: "After you jump over that initial barrier I think your colleagues accept you. By and large I just don't think about it."
Her social life, she says, consists of a lot of friends. She is also quite close to her five siblings and her parents who live in Caribou where she grew up.
"I have the flexibility to, with my schedule, work very hard that I would not have if I had children," she says later.
2:05
Once back at her office in Dirksen, the senator returns phone calls.
2:35
Collins heads back to the Capitol for the second time that day for three roll call votes. Constituents who have come to meet with her will be brought over to the Senate reception area just outside of the Senate floor in the Capitol.
"You can never be sure what your schedule is going to be like," Collins says. The votes were not scheduled until about 1 p.m., she explains.
Waiting for the subway once again, she bumps into Sen. Herb Kohl, the Wisconsin Democrat who also owns the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team.
"She's a great senator," Kohl says. "She's respected by people on both sides of the aisle equally well. She's not only smart but she's got a nice common sense about her, an everyday quality that people relate to."
"She's single, I'm single," he adds.
3:10
Sen. Collins meets the members of the Maine chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons.
"I think she's done a wonderful job for the people of the state of Maine and seniors in particular," says Les LeFond, state president of the association.
3:45
Next, Collins meets with Phoenix Research, a newly established Maine company that has developed a research ship specializing in mapping and coastal and marine geology. The ship will be ready for charter in 2006. Collins tells Phoenix that when they are ready she will draft an introductory letter to government agencies and some universities in Maine that might be interested in contracting out the vessel for research purposes.
4:15
The press secretary gets word on his Blackberry (which does not work in all parts of the Capitol) that there may be more votes; some may go as late as 11 p.m.
Meanwhile Collins sits outside the floor of the Senate chatting with Newsweek reporter Howard Fineman.
4:25
Back to Collins' office. How does she relax?
She loves to cook - blueberry muffins and cakes, chicken with Mediterranean salsa and "a really good" apple tart ? and she loves to watch the food network on Saturday mornings.
Does she ever get awed by the famous members of the Senate?
"I feel awed when I see the Capitol building lit up at night. I don't feel in awe of the people that I work with," she says. "I feel like they're my colleagues."
Upon returning to her office, Collins says that she will return a call to a reporter, meet with her legislative director about a tax bill and prepare for a hearing she will chair tomorrow. By the time she is through it will be time for the dinner she is to attend at 6:30.
As is fairly typical, she will get home at about nine, and as always, go through her briefing book for two hours before bed.
But wait: Change in plans.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has spoken about the need for an independent commission to investigate the response to Hurricane Katrina. The GOP leadership has asked Collins to go to the floor and talk about her committee's findings on the matter.
"I may do it," she says, "it depends on the time on the floor."
Is it always this busy?
"Honestly, it's usually even busier."
Senator Collins' Favorites
Favorite book : "Empire Falls" by Richard Rousseau. "I loved that book. He combined a sense of Maine with both humor and tragedy all in one book."
Book she is reading now: Collins tends to have a book going in both Maine and Washington. In Washington she is reading "The World is Flat," by Tom Friedman. In Maine she is reading "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire.
Favorite movies: "Casablanca" and "The Wizard of Oz."
Favorite political figure: Margaret Chase Smith, William Cohen (for whom she worked for 12 years) and John Chafee of Rhode Island.
Favorite fast food: "I'm not a big fast-food person" but if she had to pick she would say Quiznos chicken sub on a whole wheat bun with zesty grill sauce.
Favorite restaurant: The River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket.
Favorite drink: Iced tea with lemon.
Favorite vacation spot: Her camp at Lake Cold Stream Pond in West Enfield.
Favorite things to do to relax: Kayaking, cooking (she loves watching the food network), and reading.
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Two Maine Towns Honored for Their History and Heritage
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 -Camden and Gardiner became the first towns in Maine to be designated as historical communities on Wednesday.
The designations came from Preserve America, a White House initiative spearheaded by Laura Bush, whose mission is to encourage communities to preserve their cultural heritage.
Twenty-eight cities, towns and communities were recognized. About 300 communities in 45 states have received Preserve America designations since the program's inception three years ago
"Preservation is about revitalizing the spirit of a community," Anita McBride, Mrs. Bush's chief of staff, told the community representatives at the ceremony.
The awards reception was sponsored in part by the Historic Preservation Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives. Designees from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Department of the Interior (both organizations administer a large portion of Preserve America) also attended the event.
Preserve America's goals are to strengthen historical education and local pride, while at the same time supporting the local economies.
"It's nice to know that whatever you're doing to protect and preserve and utilize your historical assets does rise to their standards," said David Jackson, director of the Conservancy for Camden Harbor Park and Amphitheatre.
As a designated community, Camden also receives a National Park road sign with the Preserve America logo, and the program's official Web site, PreserveAmerica.gov, features a description of Camden with links to the town and the Chamber of Commerce.
Bruce Milhans, spokesman for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, said that "heritage tourism" - visiting a town to tour its historical sites - is a growing trend.
"Heritage tourists stay longer, spend more [and] extend their visits to communities or areas when they encounter things that interest them," Milhans said.
Tourists are "going to go to Preserve America communities because they know that these are places where they can go and experience heritage assets that they wouldn't know about otherwise," he added.
Camden, which has a population of 5,300, was settled in 1769. It soon prospered as a ship-building and wool manufacturing town.
To get a town designated as a Preserve America community, a representative must complete a series of application essays about how the town protects and promotes its historic resources. In the Camden application, Jackson wrote that the town "recognizes its historic roots as a coastal town each August with its annual Windjammer days," a celebration of the town's sailing ships. Some of the ships are original and some are replicas.
Gardiner did not have anyone present to accept the designation certificate. Jackson said that his employer, the not-for-profit Camden Harbor Park and Amphitheater, could not afford to send him, and the town manager paid for much of the trip from her own personal travel account.
"It does show that we made an extra effort," Jackson said of Camden.
This year, for the first time, Preserve America will offer competitive grants totaling $5 million. Designated communities or those in the process of designation that are willing to match the funds may apply for individual grants of $20,000 to $150,000. The grants aim to help the communities advance their economies, develop inventive tourism programs and provide historical documentation that tells a story to enhance the local visitor experience. The application deadline is December 16.
Jackson said he plans to apply for a grant to do the research necessary before he can nominate the Camden Harbor Amphitheater as a national historic landmark.
For more information about applying to become a designated community, visit www.preserveamerica.gov .
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What Would It Take to Unseat Michaud?
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3-Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud of the second district doesn't seem to have many worries about his bid for reelection next year, to judge by his latest campaign finance report to the Federal Election Commission.
Michaud raised only $62,000 in the last quarter, according to his filing with the commission.
"For an incumbent in a swing district [that] is not that much money," said Jonathan Coll, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which provides financial assistance to Republican candidates for the House.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that compiles campaign spending figures on its Web site, opensecrets.org, Michaud has raised $228,890 so far in the 2006 election cycle, which is about $200,000 less than what he raised during the same period in the 2004 election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission.
"I suspect Michaud's fundraising is a function of the fact that he's unlikely to have a major Republican challenge at this time," said Stuart Rothenberg, a Washington political analyst. No one has formally challenged Michaud at this point, according to election Web sites.
"This is an off year and the congressman's really been focused on congressional duties so we haven't really ramped up the fundraising for '06," said Monica Castellanos, spokeswoman for the congressman. Castellanos said Michaud has been concentrating his time on the transportation bill, and trade and veteran's issues.
At this point only "divine intervention" would unseat Michaud, said Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Report, which analyzes American politics and elections. "It would kind of be like the parting of the Red Sea."
Michaud, who is culturally conservative on issues of abortion and guns but more of a traditional Democrat on economic issues, has drawn support from moderate and conservative Democrats, along with some Republicans.
Even the "more progressive Democrats are not going to desert him," said Sandy Maisel, director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College in Waterville.
The ideal Republican challenger would be enough of a moderate to appeal to Democratic voters, Maisel said, and that person could find a major weakness in Michaud's record.
According to Coll of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Michaud's biggest vulnerabilities are that he voted against the energy bill.
A Republican challenger would also need to be able to raise big money, Rothenberg said.
Michaud, who has spent only $93,266 on his 2006 campaign so far, was first elected to the House in 2002 in a race for the open seat vacated by John Baldacci, now Maine's Democratic governor. Michaud raised more than a million dollars for that campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and narrowly won the race, 52-48 percent, over Kevin Raye, who was Sen. Olympia Snowe's chief of staff.
Because the race was highly competitive, the National Republican Congressional Committee supported Raye financially but gave no money to Republican challenger Brian Hamel in 2004. "That was not a high-priority Republican race," Rothenberg said.
Michaud had an easier time winning last year, with 58 percent of the vote, against Hamel, a former business executive. Hamel raised $667,602 compared to Michaud's $1.3 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
"Hamel was a good candidate," Rothenberg said. "But that's not enough to defeat an entrenched incumbent who seems to fit the district pretty well." Hamel told the Bangor Daily News that he has no plans to run again in 2006.
Over the years Republicans have become more interested in defending incumbents' seats than in launching attacks on entrenched Democrats, Maisel said. "They don't want to put their efforts in districts where they're going to win by a large amount or lose by a large amount. It's a waste of money," Maisel said.
"It's a much worse environment for the Republicans now than it was two years ago with the war, gas prices, the President's response to Katrina, questions about Republican ethics," Rothenberg said. "My guess is that [Michaud] doesn't feel threatened."
The National Republican Congressional Committee would not comment about whether it will contribute to a Republican challenger to Michaud next year, Coll said, but according to political experts, they are not likely to.
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