enlarge The Associated Press

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., talk to reporters on Capitol Hill today after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on the economic stimulus legislation. Collins is co-chair of a group of about 20 political moderates who are working to scale back the $920 billion stimulus bill to about $800 billion, the figure sought by President Obama.

Educators, doctors and environmentalists mounted furious lobbying campaigns today to keep program funding in the proposed economic stimulus package as it heads for debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

The Maine Education Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees joined forces to bring pressure to bear on key senators, including Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

The groups estimate that about $166 million in funding for education and Head Start in Maine would be stripped from the stimulus bill as part of a compromise negotiated by a bipartisan group led by Collins.

Greenpeace is also urging its members to contact the Maine senators, because the compromise would remove more than $4.5 billion in funding nationally for energy efficiency, research and science programs that would help to reduce climate change.

"It's crucial that those portions don't get cut," said David Pomerantz, the New England regional organizer for Greenpeace. "We're definitely urging Sen. Collins to leave the energy provisions intact."

Collins, a member of the Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., are leading a bipartisan group of about 20 political moderates who are working to scale back the $920 billion stimulus bill to about $800 billion, the figure sought by President Obama.

The Collins-Nelson group is taking aim at spending provisions that, in their view, won't provide significant or rapid economic returns.

Snowe, a member of the Finance Committee, met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today to discuss amending the tax cut portions of the bill. She said the amended proposal would closely resemble the package she discussed in a meeting with Obama on Wednesday.

It is unclear whether a compromise package will reach the Senate floor for a vote today. Negotiators were meeting with Reid this afternoon, but there did not appear to be an agreement in hand yet.