While many congressional Republicans lined up yesterday to call the year-old economic stimulus a failure, two GOP lawmakers who supported the $862 billion package sang its praises -- not in Washington, but in their home state of Maine.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, issued a joint statement touting the Transportation Department's decision to award $14 million in stimulus funds to the state's ports, according to the Bangor Daily News. "Given that our great nation is recovering from the deepest recession since World War II, this funding is a step forward that will assist in the expansion and rehabilitation of these vital ports," the statement said, according to the newspaper.

The story -- headlined "Stimulus dollars headed to Eastport, Searsport" -- can be found here.

The pair of Maine moderates are the only Republicans in the Senate who supported the stimulus package. (Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania was a Republican when he voted for the stimulus last year but has since switched to the Democratic Party.)

Unlike many of their GOP colleagues, Snowe and Collins didn't make any comments yesterday about how they think the stimulus package is working overall. Spokesmen for Snowe and Collins didn't return phone messages seeking comment yesterday.

Snowe spokesman John Gentzel and Jeannine Guttman, a spokeswoman for Collins on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told On Politics this morning that they would seek comments from their bosses on the stimulus' effects.

We'll get back to you if they do.

Updated at 1:12 p.m. EST. Collins says in an e-mailed statement to On Politics that she believes the stimulus has helped create and save jobs, including in Maine. "Although far from perfect, the Recovery Act has provided tax relief, helped to create and save jobs, and responded to our nation's dire economic crisis," Collins says.

Her full statement:

The Recovery Act was a compromise that has provided tax relief for low- and middle-income families and for small businesses, robust infrastructure spending, and significant funding for state education and health care programs. Although far from perfect, the Recovery Act has provided tax relief, helped to create and save jobs, and responded to our nation's dire economic crisis—the worst since the Great Depression. Many states, like my home state of Maine, have been severely hit by what some economists are calling the Great Recession and thus were significantly helped by the stimulus program. Going forward, I remain concerned about the transparency of the stimulus program, which the Administration promised would be wholly accountable to the American taxpayer. The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, charged with coordinating and conducting oversight to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, has had a mixed record of success. As we go into the second year of the stimulus initiative, that must be rectified. The Board's administration of the Recovery.gov website, a critical means of providing public transparency, has been hamstrung by the Administration's inability to set effective reporting standards from the start. That has made it difficult to track accurately the number of jobs the Recovery Act has created or saved. I have pressed and will continue to pressure the Administration to get it right, to provide an accurate record of jobs created or saved by the stimulus.

Still waiting on Snowe.

(Reported by Matt Kelley)