WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Susan Collins today announced that the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay will receive an $82,159 grant from the National Science Foundation to support future Arctic research. The grant will fund travel for fifteen U.S. researchers to meet with Swedish peers to discuss potential joint research aboard the Stockholm-based icebreaker Oden. “As our climate... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Cultivating Community -- a Portland-based organization dedicated to creating and sustaining greater access to healthy, affordable, local foods in Maine -- a $750,000 grant to support a project that will provide intensive, land-based training to four groups of new farmers and is aimed toward socially-disadvantaged or limited resource... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tomorrow, U.S. Senator Susan Collins will host the Senate’s first bipartisan lunch of the 114th Congress. In November, Collins and Senator Angus King (I-ME) joined a bipartisan group of 30 Senators in calling on their party leaders to schedule monthly lunches between their caucuses in the hope of building better and more productive relationships among all members of the Senate. Senator Collins chose Maine-made items to feature at Wednesday’s lunch... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the Town of Rockport and the City of South Portland successfully launching ultra-fast broadband projects and with other municipalities poised to do the same, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced his support for legislation – the Community Broadband Act – that would preserve the rights of cities and localities across the country to follow Maine’s lead in building municipal broadband networks. “Rockport and South Portland are... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement today urging Congressional leaders to pass a clean funding bill that will ensure the continued full operations of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): “The Department of Homeland Security plays a critical role in protecting Americans from the serious threats that confront our nation each and every day. That’s why I simply cannot understand why we would jeopardize their ability to plan... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award technical assistance to the Lincoln County Town of Damariscotta through its Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. According to EPA, Damariscotta is one of 22 towns and cities nationwide chosen to receive help identifying sustainable strategies for meeting housing needs for different ages and incomes. “As the Town of Damariscotta... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) applauded the release of a study from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommending that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) include fresh, white potatoes in the Special Supplementation Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). King has joined with Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) in consistently advocating for this inclusion. “This study further confirms what we have known and consistently... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today released the following statement in response to the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2016: “Budgets reflect priorities, and it is clear that the President’s priorities include addressing the damaging effects of sequestration and rebuilding our nation’s vital infrastructure,” said Senator King. “We need a budget that addresses the needs and realities of... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) praised a recently announced set of proposals from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would ease mortgage rules for community banks and credit unions. The proposals would make it easier for small banks and credit unions to offer home loans in rural areas. This provision is similar to one included in the RELIEVE Act, a bill that King introduced last Congress with a bipartisan group of his Senate... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) toured Mölnlycke Health Care and RollEase, two Brunswick-based businesses that have developed innovative strategies to grow their companies, create good-paying jobs, and support the local economy. “Right here in Brunswick, we are seeing how companies are investing in new, 21st century technologies and utilizing workforce development programs to compete in today’s globalized economy,” Senator King said.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement today after opposing a bill to approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline: “What most disappoints me about this whole debate is that it’s been masked as being about this country’s energy future. In fact, America’s energy future isn’t something I’ve really heard being discussed around here. What... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke out against increasing exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a time when more natural gas is desperately needed in Maine and across New England to help lower energy prices. While the committee considered the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act, a bill to streamline the permitting of facilities to export LNG, Senator King criticized the idea of sending... Continue Reading »
AUGUSTA, ME – Today, U.S. Army veteran Oscar Gerry of Oakland finally received the set of medals and decorations he earned for his service in the military, including several awarded for his service in Bosnia during the peacekeeping operation. In a ceremony held at Senator Angus King’s office in Augusta, Claire Bridgeo, a Constituent Service Representative for Senator King, along with Peter Ogden, the Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services, presented Mr. Gerry with a... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) today introduced the Federal Permitting Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation designed to streamline and improve the federal permitting process, which is currently laden with uncertainty and unpredictability that hinders investment, economic growth, and job creation. The legislation is modeled on the commonsense, bipartisan permit-streamlining reforms of the 2006 and 2012... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the threat of the return of sequestration in 2016, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today, during two separate committee hearings, spoke out against the law that indiscriminately cuts spending across the entire government as a misguided attempt to fix the nation’s budget deficit and growing debt. During a Senate Budget Committee hearing this morning with Dr. Doug Elmendorf, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Senator King slammed... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have awarded a $150,000 research grant to the University of Maine. The award will fund the University of Maine’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative in developing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based novel method to better understand the mechanism of internalization of foodborne... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he has joined the Senate Tourism Caucus, an informal group of his Senate colleagues who work with industry and relevant federal agencies to promote tourism by reviewing and exploring important policy goals. As a member of the bipartisan group, Senator King will work to promote Maine’s tourism industry, a major driver of the state’s economy that generates more than $2 billion in household earnings and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement today in response to the announcement that Clayton S. Rose, a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School, has been elected the next President of Bowdoin College: “I am excited to join with the faculty, staff, and students at Bowdoin in congratulating and welcoming their new President, Clayton Rose,” Senator King said. “Bowdoin is an outstanding institution, and with Mr.... Continue Reading »
FARMINGTON, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke at an event hosted by the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) and the Maine Chapter of the Fulbright Association in which he laid out the lessons he has learned in the realm of foreign policy since joining the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees in January 2013. “These past two years have been an incredible lesson not just in foreign relations, but really, in human relations,” Senator King said.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King have introduced legislation – the Veterans Access to Community Care Act of 2015 – that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use its existing authority to offer community care to veterans who live more than 40 miles driving distance from the nearest VA medical facility that provides the type of care they need. “Maine veterans often face barriers to accessing care, including long drives... Continue Reading »
