Press release from the Collins for Senator campaign:

TOM ALLEN VOTES (AGAIN) TO JEOPARDIZE THE SAFETY OF AMERICAN PEOPLE

Congressman Tom Allen chose politics over the safety and security of the American people by voting Friday with a small minority against a bipartisan compromise that would modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. FISA is one of the most important tools in the war against terror, allowing our nation's intelligence community to conduct lawful surveillance of suspected terrorists. FISA has helped our intelligence agencies protect our country, and our military troops in the field, by granting these agencies the authority to intercept terrorist plots. The compromise bill provides our intelligence agencies with the tools they need to help protect against possible terrorist attacks, while protecting civil liberties.

"Tom Allen had a chance to help protect our nation's safety and security. Unfortunately, he caved in to the pressure of partisan special interest groups and voted to deny our intelligence community the necessary resources to continue monitoring foreign-based, terrorist communications," said Kevin Kelley, spokesman for Collins for Senator.

WHAT TOM ALLEN'S DEMOCRATIC COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING ABOUT FISA LEGISLATION:

• SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) "Our troops in the field depend on timely and reliable information." "Good intelligence is necessary for us to know the plans of the terrorists." "This bill does not allow warrantless surveillance of Americans."
• HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER STENY HOYER (D-MD) "This bipartisan bill balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans' civil liberties, and provides critical new oversight and accountability requirements," said Hoyer. "It is the result of compromise, and like any compromise is not perfect, but I believe it strikes a sound balance. Furthermore, we have ensured that Congress can revisit these issues because the legislation will sunset at the end of 2012."
• HOUSE ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN IKE SKELTON (D-MO) "This bipartisan compromise strikes the right balance between providing our intelligence community with the tools they need to find and fight terrorists and protecting our constitutional rights."
• SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) "At its core this historic, bipartisan agreement to modernize FISA is about providing an essential tool in the fight against terrorism. It meets our dual obligations to make our Nation safe and restore the privacy protections and civil liberties Americans require."