Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., will campaign on Thursday in Portland for Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, who is looking to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

Allen and Lautenberg will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, in the Rhode Island Room of the Holiday Inn By the Bay, in Portland, according to a press release sent by the Allen campaign.

Allen and Lautenberg will seek to hammer Collins for her performance as chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee from 2003 to 2006.

As various government agencies and the media uncovered instances of graft, waste, fraud and abuse related to Halliburton's reconstruction and logistical contracts to perform work in Iraq for the Army, Collins issued no subpoenas regarding the role of civilian contractors in Iraq. Moreover, she held just one hearing in 2006 about the reconstruction effort.

Lautenberg proved to be Collins' nemesis while she was chairwoman, sending her multiple letters asking her to hold hearings.

Here's the text of Allen's press release:

PORTLAND - Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, will join Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Tom Allen for a press conference tomorrow to discuss the disservice to U.S. troops and bilking of taxpayers by contractors profiting from the war in Iraq. Senator Lautenberg will also formally endorse Congressman Allen's candidacy for the Senate.

The press conference will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Rhode Island Room of the Holiday Inn By the Bay, in Portland.

A World War II veteran, Senator Lautenberg is a former member of the chief oversight committee of the U.S. Senate. From 2003 through 2006, he repeatedly requested hearings regarding Halliburton and other war profiteers as billions of dollars were wasted and our troops did not receive the services they deserved. His requests, made to the chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee during that period, Senator Susan Collins, were denied.

Senator Lautenberg and Congressman Allen agree that companies should be expected to fully serve our troops and taxpayers. "But from nearly the outset of this war, it was clear that there was a major problem with the largest contractor we had in Iraq: Halliburton," Lautenberg said.

Congressman Allen has since 2003 worked for measures to hold contractors accountable and in recent months has passed legislation to establish a modern-day Truman Commission to investigate Iraq and Afghanistan wartime contracts and the contracting processes.

"There is simply no excuse for allowing Halliburton and other contractors to rip off taxpayers while failing to serve our troops," Allen said. "To hold contractors' feet to the fire is the only right thing to do, and that is what my legislation does."

Senator Lautenberg noted Tom Allen's record of pushing for tougher standards for contracting oversight in Iraq. "We both know that when taxpayers' money is wasted - in this case in the billions of dollars - we need to take action. The people of Maine deserve a leader in the Senate who will stand up for what's right - not just for what the party wants you to do. We need a leader like Tom Allen in the U.S. Senate."

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