This story was changed at 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, 2008. A story on pressherald.com Tuesday, June 11, 2008, about Maine's senators splitting their vote on a tax-relief bill should have made it clear that the bill being voted on in the Senate did not include any provisions related to the alternative minimum tax. Had the Senate voted to consider the bill, Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he would have amended the bill so that it included a provision to shield taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax.

WASHINGTON — Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins were on opposite sides of a vote Tuesday over whether the Senate should take action on a $50 billion tax relief bill.

Snowe voted for a procedural motion to consider a tax bill to extend tax credits and deductions that have expired or will expire at the end of the year.

Collins voted against bringing the bill to the Senate floor for consideration. Senate Democrats fell 10 votes short of getting the 60 votes needed to overcome the Republican filibuster.

The bill under consideration included a host of tax breaks to spur investment in alternative energy sources and other tax credits and deductions for research and development, child care, and college tuition.

“This country is in an energy crisis, but by the way Congress acts, you wouldn’t know it,” Snowe said in a statement.

Collins said in a statement that the bill “sets the wrong priorities” because it included a $1.6 billion tax deduction for plaintiff’s lawyers to offset litigation expenses, $1.1 billion for New York City for tax credits for transportation infrastructure spending, which President Bush had included in his budget request.

Collins also said she voted against the bill because it did not include a provision to address the impact of the unpopular alternative minimum tax, which affects more taxpayers as their incomes rise.

“We need to extend expiring tax provisions like the Research and Development tax credit and the teachers’ tax deduction, which I authored, but we cannot ignore the consequences of the (alternative minimum tax) on middle income families,” Collins said.

While the bill did not include a provision addressing the alternative minimum tax, Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said he would have amended it to include a fix on the tax had the debate moved forward.

Meanwhile, Republicans blocked a separate measure that would have implemented a windfall profit tax on oil companies and eliminated billions in tax subsidies for oil companies.

It also would have imposed tougher penalties for price gouging and placed further limits on speculation in energy futures markets.

Snowe and Collins both voted to end the filibuster and consider the bill.