U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Climate Action Task Force, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement: “Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement is a mistake of historic proportions, putting our country and, indeed, our entire planet at risk. Climate change is the most serious and pressing global challenge of our time, and it will only be blunted by a coalition... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King, announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a total of $3,317,011 in funding to 10 airports in Maine. The funding was awarded through the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency within the DOT. “Maine’s regional airports are vital pieces of our transportation system that help bolster the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that a combined total of $1.85 million in federal funding has been awarded for the assessment and cleanup of 9 Brownfields sites in Maine. The federal grants awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will assist local communities as they work to redevelop these contaminated sites in order to promote environmental integrity and future economic investment. “We are pleased that the EPA has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that two Maine organizations will receive a total of $2,961,181 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Aroostook County Action Program will receive $1,542,207 and Southern Kennebec Child Development Corporation will receive $1,418,974. “Head Start programs offer invaluable educational opportunities to young children and their families,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that four Maine universities and colleges will receive a total of $2,161,002 through the U.S. Department of Education’s Upward Bound Program. Upward Bound helps low-income, first-generation, and other students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursue higher education. “Upward Bound and other TRIO programs are vital for students across our state, where we have a large number of first-generation... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – With the Trump Administration refusing to enforce central provisions of the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today sent letters to three Maine health insurance companies asking if the substantial uncertainty these efforts are creating will end up raising the costs of Maine peoples’ health insurance. In his letters to Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Maine, Community Health Options, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Senator King specifically... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have introduced the Community Bank Relief Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide regulatory relief to small financial institutions. The bill preserves financial safety measures and broadens small bank lending opportunities that will provide families, small businesses, and start-ups better credit options. “It's common-sense to know that Maine's community banks are different from... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today signed a letter led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) requesting that the Fiscal Year 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill include $52.1 million for the critical State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). President Trump’s budget proposal would eliminate the program. In a letter to HELP Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.),... Continue Reading »
CLINTON, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has signed a letter led by Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) calling on the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee to reject any effort to prevent the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring public companies to disclose political spending to their shareholders as part of the fiscal year 2018 funding bill. “For seven long years, companies have had free... Continue Reading »
AUGUSTA, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) presented veteran Paul Laird of Otisfield with the Humanitarian Service Medal to recognize his work in 1977 cleaning up the Enewetak Atoll, one of several small islands in the Pacific Ocean where the United States conducted multiple nuclear weapons tests from 1948-1952. Mr. Laird never received his recognition, and Senator King’s office recently worked with the Department of the Army to help secure it. Following the medal... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he has cosponsored the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act, bipartisan legislation that would strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program. The Brownfields program, which enjoys strong bipartisan support, assists states and local communities through grants and technical assistance as they assess, safely clean up, and reuse Brownfield sites –... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) reintroduced legislation that would make it easier for small farms and ranches to provide locally-produced meats to consumers. The Processing Revival and Instrastate Meat Exemption Act, or PRIME Act, would give individual states the freedom to permit intrastate distribution of custom-slaughtered meat such as beef, pork, goat or lamb to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today questioned the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal, which will harm hundreds of thousands of people across Maine. Senator King specifically pressed OMB Director Mick Mulvaney on the proposed cuts to Medicaid, which are estimated to be in excess of $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Senator King asked if the Trump Administration – despite the President... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior urging him “in the strongest possible terms” to let the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument stand. In his letter, Senator King asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to complete the review promptly and outlined the extensive public input that was considered over a span of several years prior to the Monument’s designation and highlighted the economic boost it has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a months long bipartisan push from the Maine Delegation, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Bruce Poliquin and Chellie Pingree announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has agreed to review an application submitted by the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) that was previously rejected due to minor formatting issues. The Maine delegation has repeatedly raised this issue to the U.S. Secretary of Education,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), along with several families of children from across America who have survived cancer, joined together today to speak out against the American Health Care Act’s failure to provide Americans with preexisting conditions with affordable, quality care. In his remarks, Senator King emphasized how having health insurance can mean the difference between life and death, as it did for him... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following pressure from U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and his colleagues, the Trump Administration today released its 2018 budget proposal that preserves the majority of funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In remarks on the Senate floor last week, Senator King denounced the reported 95 percent reduction in ONDCP’s budget that President Trump was considering and then sent the President a letter urging him not to pursue the drastic... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement in response to the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget: “While I appreciate the need to work towards a more fiscally responsible budget, I don’t believe the way to do so is by sharply cutting programs that support those who have fallen on hard times and by relying on... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today introduced legislation that would make it easier for Maine seafood dealers to export sea urchins and sea cucumbers outside of the United States. The legislation, which also has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Bruce Poliquin, would put an end to repetitive, mandatory inspections of urchins and sea cucumbers exported from the country. The unnecessary... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded $479,155.51 through the State Home Construction Grant Program for a recently completed renovation project at Maine Veterans’ Homes’ Scarborough facility. “Maine Veterans’ Homes provides veterans with the high-quality care and support... Continue Reading »
