House and Senate negotiators involved in the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill have agreed to include a request by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for $5 million for the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative at the University of Maine in the final version of the spending bill.
Collins, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured the funding in the Senate version of the bill. While the House version of the bill did not include the funding, the provision prevailed during final conference negotiations.
‘The university has already made great strides in this research, which has the potential to diversify Maine's energy supply, reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and create thousands of new jobs,’ says Collins.
The House of Representatives approved the conference report last week. It must now receive final approval from the Senate.
SOURCE: Office of Sen. Susan Collins
