WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today continued his push to establish a comprehensive strategy to combat the opioid and heroin epidemic that is devastating communities in Maine and across the country. Senator King joined a group of his colleagues to introduce the Combating the Opioid Epidemic Act, legislation that would invest $45 billion for prevention, detection, surveillance and treatment of opioids. Senator King today also wrote to President Trump urging him to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that last night the Senate unanimously passed a resolution honoring the Sailors and Marines of the USS Forrestal, an aircraft carrier that caught fire following a series of ammunition explosions on July 29, 1967 while in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. The fire claimed the lives of 134 servicemembers and injured 161 others. Among the survivors was now-Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Senator King joined a bipartisan... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that the U.S Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted 12-3 to approve the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, which will extend the sunset of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Act to December 31, 2025. Included in the reauthorization is an amendment Senator King introduced with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) that addresses the procedures by which U.S. intelligence agencies query data incidentally... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke at the Opportunity Alliance in South Portland to urge Maine people to prepare for the Affordable Care Act 2018 Open Enrollment Period, which begins November 1st. Senator King was joined by healthcare advocates, application assisters, healthcare providers and insurers to highlight the continued availability of ACA healthcare plans, as well as reinforce the shortened enrollment window to sign up for coverage. “Reports of... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that six organizations received grants totaling $196,124 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. These funds will be used to help microenterprises start-up and grow in Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford, Aroostook, Cumberland, and Penobscot Counties. “These investments will give invaluable assistance to Maine entrepreneurs by providing resources and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned officials from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation during a Senate Armed Services Committee focused on the nation’s cyber defenses. In his questioning, Senator King emphasized the importance of establishing a national doctrine for deterring adversaries in cyberspace. “I think [the need for a doctrine is] one of the key issues here,” said... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about the budget resolution and tax cut framework currently before the Senate. During his remarks, Senator King highlighted the impact the budget resolution and tax framework will have on working people, seniors, and future generations of Americans. “If we pass unfunded tax cuts, they aren’t really tax cuts, they are simply a deferral of the tax... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that Pine Tree Legal Assistance will receive two technology grants from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) totaling $261,250. The first grant for $175,250 will be used for a project benefitting low-income veterans, while the second grant for $86,000 will be used for improvements to statewide legal websites. “For the past five decades, Pine Tree Legal Assistance has been steadfast in its commitment to... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that Shaw House, a non-profit in Bangor that serves homeless and at-risk youth, will receive a total of $145,937 through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The funding will support operations at Shaw House’s Basic Center Program (BCP) for homeless and runaway youth and their families. Senators Collins and King wrote a letter in support of Shaw House’s grant application in... Continue Reading »
RANGELEY, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, released the following statement after today’s announcement that the administration plans to withhold Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) certification to Congress. “While I’m deeply concerned with Iran’s malign activity in the region, I believe that remaining in the JCPOA at this time is in our national security interest. This is not just... Continue Reading »
FARMINGTON, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today hosted a discussion on the state of the opioid crisis in Maine with Mount Blue High School students, school administrators, and local health professionals at Mount Blue High School in Farmington. The discussion focused on what can be done in Maine school systems to prevent opioid use and raise awareness about the issue. “The impact of the opioid crisis in Maine is staggering and affects every corner of our communities,... Continue Reading »
BIDDEFORD, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined local students, teachers, and manufacturers at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick to celebrate the importance of Maine manufacturing for the state’s economy and traditions and help expose students to high-tech manufacturing opportunities in Maine. The event, hosted by the Manufacturers Association of Maine and Lockheed Martin, included a Lockheed Martin F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator that students were able to test. Senator... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration has awarded Saint Joseph’s College in Standish a $1,987,512 grant for the college’s Institute for Local Food Systems Innovation. The project, which is anticipated to create approximately 88 jobs, will foster collaboration between the public and private sectors to support local farms, food, and beverage producers and bolster the... Continue Reading »
SEARSMONT, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), today hosted an Energy Committee Field Hearing at Robbins Lumber, a fifth-generation family owned sawmill in Searsmont, on how combined heat and power (CHP) and microgrid technology approaches could help sustain and strengthen rural industries and create jobs by turning byproducts of the forest industry into added value for local economies. The hearing, which... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced his support for the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that would strengthen the Veterans Justice Program to support veterans involved in the criminal justice system. The bill, introduced by Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), would require the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to hire at least 50 Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists, place each... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), members of both the Senate Intelligence and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, today applauded the introduction of the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and John Carter (R-TX). The bipartisan legislation serves as a companion bill to legislation introduced by Senators King and Risch and aims to examine solutions to... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins, a member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King announced today that the State of Maine will receive up to $2,705,671.57 for a renovation and expansion project currently underway at the Maine Veterans’ Home facility in Bangor. The funding was awarded through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) State Home Construction Grant... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate to address threats to the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare marketplace. “I’m rising today in sadness, but also in some anger because there’s a lot of talk about the Affordable Care Act collapsing,” said Senator King in his speech. “Mr. President, it is not collapsing – it’s being mugged. It’s being stabbed in the back. It’s being... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today released the September edition of his podcast, Inside Maine. In the September edition, Senator King interviews Matt Jacobson, Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, and Genevieve McDonald, a lobsterman from Stonington. Senator King and his guests discuss the importance of the lobster to Maine, including its impact on jobs and tourism, areas of potential growth, future challenges and the hope for a... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that the U.S. Navy awarded contracts to Bath Iron Works to build two new DDG-51 destroyers. The first ship will be in the Flight IIA configuration, and the second will be in the Flight III configuration. The Flight III ship will incorporate the SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) and upgrade the electrical power and cooling capacity plus... Continue Reading »