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 »
BANGOR, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today co-hosted a discussion with AARP Maine at the Bangor Public Library to highlight the harmful effects of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and share the stories of older, rural Maine people who are worried that the bill will dramatically increase their health care costs and make health insurance unaffordable and unattainable. The discussion specifically focused on the impact of the age tax, a provision within the AHCA that would allow... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin today sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requesting that they include funding for 24 VA medical facility leases in the President’s FY 2018 budget request. The letter also urges the administration to assume authorization of the leases and partner with members of Congress to raise awareness about the... Continue Reading »
PORTLAND, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today sent President Donald Trump a letter urging him not to cut funding to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Senator King’s letter comes in the wake of reports that the President is considering a drastic 95 percent reduction in budget for ONDCP, the federal government’s lead office in coordinating the fight against the opioid epidemic in states like Maine. The cuts would come at a time when the drug crisis... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, who oversees the Army Corps of Engineers, urging them to prioritize the critical need for maintenance dredging of York Harbor and the Saco River. Neither site has been dredged in more than two decades, creating significant safety and navigational access concerns. In their... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), along with Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), today reintroduced legislation to reform federal student loan repayment programs. The Repay Act, which Senators King and Burr originally introduced in 2014, would simplify the complex maze of federal student loan repayment programs by... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) pressed the nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Interior Department about the ongoing review of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. In his questioning of the nominee, Mr. David Bernhardt, Senator King asked him what he would consider “adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders” – the standard being used by the Interior Department to review... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision today to move forward on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to repeal existing net neutrality protections, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) – a strong proponent of the open internet – released the following statement: “Today’s vote by the FCC is a mistake. Rolling back these common-sense net neutrality... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have introduced the Medicaid Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion (Medicaid CARE) Act, bipartisan legislation that would expand access to substance abuse treatment for tens of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries across the country. The Medicaid CARE Act would increase addiction treatment services to help combat the heroin... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) announced today that they have sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee urging them to hold hearings on legislation that would help provide regulatory relief to smaller financial institutions. “We are deeply concerned that community banks and small credit unions are shouldering increasingly high compliance costs that stem from outdated, unnecessary, or... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would help newborns suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a withdrawal condition often caused by use of opioids and other addictive substances in pregnant women. The Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies (CRIB) Act would allow states to recognize residential pediatric recovery facilities as... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan resolution cosponsored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Angus King declaring May 15 through May 19, 2017, National Senior Corps Week in recognition of the valuable contributions of the more than 250,000 senior volunteers across the country. “In Maine, hundreds of seniors make significant contributions through our state’s nine Senior Corps programs,” said Senator... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A week after hearing from the mothers of Daniel Humphrey of Lewiston and Lidia Woofenden of Bowdoinham, two young adults with disabilities, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) took to the Senate floor today to share their stories with the nation and speak out against the House-passed health care bill as a cruel piece of legislation that would hurt them and other people with disabilities throughout Maine. In his remarks, Senator King explained that the misleadingly named... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he has cosponsored bipartisan legislation to help halt the flow of illicit fentanyl from Mexico, China, and other nations around the world into the United States. The INTERDICT Act, which was introduced earlier this year by Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), would provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) with resources and tools,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Angus King announced today that The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor has been awarded a grant totaling $2,668,127 over five years that will fund studies of the complex processes involved in both healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease “Approximately 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, including 37,000 in Maine, and that number is soaring as our... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement today on the passing of former Maine State Legislator Neil Rolde: “Neil was a wonderful friend and a dedicated public servant,” Senator King said. “I always admired his deep and abiding love of history and strived to learn from it whenever I could. His commitment to helping the people of Maine – whether it be... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) has awarded the Waterville Public Library with the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The award, which is given to only ten institutions nationwide each year, is the highest honor the nation bestows upon museums and libraries for exceptional service to America’s communities. Senators Collins and King wrote a letter in support of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Congressmen Andy Harris (R-Md.-01) and Bill Keating (D-Mass.-09) have led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 87 Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Labor urging them to take immediate action to ensure that small and seasonal businesses across the nation are able to get the workers they need to operate during the busy summer months. In the letter, the Members of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Treasury Department announced that federal student loan interest rates will remain near a historic low at 4.45 percent, down from a peak of 6.8 percent in 2012. In 2013, when government-set student loan interest rates were scheduled to double, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act to let student borrowers take advantage of lower marketplace interest rates. The law,... Continue Reading »
