SUSAN COLLINS DETAILS HER SUPPORT FOR HUMANITARIAN AID.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins has responded to Humanitarian Senate Watch 2026, a new effort by The Caring World to get candidates for the United States Senate on the record about America's humanitarian role in the world.

Collins submitted detailed answers to seven questions addressing HIV/AIDS and PEPFAR, hunger and malnutrition, global health, America's responsibility toward vulnerable people beyond its borders, and whether senators would defend lifesaving humanitarian programs when doing so conflicts with their party's leadership.

Democratic candidate Troy Jackson was sent the same questionnaire and given the same September 30 deadline. As of the deadline, The Caring World had not received a response from Jackson.

Humanitarian Senate Watch was created because humanitarian assistance affects the lives of vulnerable people around the world but has received relatively little attention in the 2026 Senate campaign.

Yet humanitarian assistance has significant public support.

A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 83% of Americans support providing medicine and medical supplies to people in developing countries, while 78% support providing food and clothing. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported both forms of assistance.

The Caring World believes candidates asking voters to send them to the United States Senate should be asked where they stand.

COLLINS DEFENDS AMERICA'S HUMANITARIAN ROLE

Collins expressed strong support for American humanitarian and global-health programs.

On PEPFAR, the U.S. program created under President George W. Bush to combat HIV/AIDS, Collins said she has “consistently supported PEPFAR and will continue to protect this lifesaving program.”

She cited her opposition to a proposed $400 million PEPFAR funding rescission and her work on FY2026 appropriations providing $5.88 billion for HIV/AIDS programs, including bilateral PEPFAR programs and funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Asked whether America has a responsibility to help vulnerable people beyond its borders when American assistance can save lives, Collins wrote:

“I believe the United States has an obligation to help those in need when we have the ability to do so.”

She added that effective and accountable humanitarian assistance reflects American values, saves lives and advances U.S. national interests through greater stability and American leadership.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PARTY AND PRINCIPLE COLLIDE?

Humanitarian Senate Watch also asked candidates a question rarely posed in traditional campaign questionnaires:

If legislation restoring lifesaving humanitarian assistance came before the Senate, and their vote could determine the outcome, would they vote for that assistance even if their party's leadership opposed it?

Collins did not answer with a simple yes or no. Instead, she pointed to her record.

She cited her opposition to the Trump administration's 2025 rescissions package, including reductions to foreign assistance, and her vote against final passage despite support for the legislation from most members of her party.

“I always consider the legislation before me on its merits, regardless of which party supports it,” Collins wrote.

The Caring World is publishing Collins's answer as submitted rather than interpreting it as an unconditional yes or no.