WASHINGTON — Two Republican senators from Maine, one current and one former, rank 2nd and 3rd in a list of bipartisanship going back more than 20 years to the 103rd Congress.
The Lugar Center puts U.S. Sen. Susan Collins at No. 2 in the list of 227 senators who served at least 10 months; U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe comes in at 3rd.
Lugar Center Dan Diller says the organization wanted to develop an objective measure of how well members of opposite parties work with one another, using sponsorship and co-sponsorship of bills as criteria.
"What we're measuring is the frequency with which members of Congress, in this case senators, co-sponsor bills that are introduced by members of the opposite party, and the frequency with which their own bills that they've sponsored are co-sponsored by members of the opposite party," he says.
Maine's newest senator, Independent Angus King, is ranked 48th. Former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee tops the list.
