WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and a bipartisan group of his colleagues have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) explaining the financial and bureaucratic challenges facing meat producers and processors during the coronavirus pandemic. In their letter, the Senators advocate for the inclusion of the Processing Revival and Instrastate Meat Exemption Act (PRIME) Act in any future coronavirus response... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined a bipartisan group of 23 of their colleagues in urging Senate leadership to provide additional support for the child care sector in future COVID-19 relief legislation. “In many states, child care providers have been forced to close their doors. Other child care providers are continuing to operate, despite financial losses, to provide support to parents, especially our essential... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — As more veterans in rural Maine seek routine VA care online or by phone due to COVID-19, Maine’s congressional delegation wrote to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today in an effort to improve telehealth services. In their letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) requested the VA provide them with information Congress can use to ensure that veterans... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), along with CSC co-chair Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Commissioners Suzanne Spaulding and Thomas Fanning, testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and present the CSC’s recommendations to establish a comprehensive, forward-looking cybersecurity posture for the United States. The final report, issued on March 11, lays out... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today called on Congressman John Ratcliffe, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, to clarify his testimony regarding his position on the use of torture. In a letter sent from Senator King and his colleague on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Senator Dianne Feinstein, they express grave concerns over his vague answers to questions in his nomination hearing.“In both your written and your oral responses to... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that Maine has been awarded a total of $52,673,451 to purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID-19 testing.“Expanded testing is essential for helping to protect Mainers’ health during the current public health crisis and to safely reopen our communities,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “Testing will also give Mainers the confidence to resume their daily lives and return to work, school,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) led a bipartisan group of colleagues on a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging them to include their New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act as part of the federal government’s coronavirus response efforts.“As of Friday, May 2, 2020, beef processing was down 26 percent and beef production was down 24 percent over the past four weeks... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.– U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, joined a bipartisan group of senators to urge the leadership of both the Senate and House of Representatives to include $2 billion in the next coronavirus relief package to help healthcare providers expand telehealth services through improved access to broadband. Telehealth reduces the time and costs of traveling great distances, and also allows healthcare providers to treat patients safely without... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of their colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately work to ensure SNAP participants can receive home food delivery and access curbside pickup options during the COVID-19 pandemic.“The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented rise in unemployment and a subsequent increase in demand for food assistance. At the same time,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of Senators to introduce the Coronavirus Relief Fund Flexibility Act, legislation that would allow the federal relief funds provided to states and local governments in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to be used to replace revenue shortfalls resulting from the pandemic. The legislation would apply retroactively to the enactment of the CARES Act, and addresses the fact that the decline of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) participated in a video teleconference with Maine Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services to connect with their staff that work with Maine’s behavioral health organizations and help those coping with substance use disorders and mental health challenges. Reports show that the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on Americans who already struggle with mental health challenges... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – To conclude National Teacher Appreciation Week, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) participated in a teleconference today with the Maine Jump$tart Coalition, a program that aims to improve the financial literacy of Maine people, to recognize two financial educators. Ms. Raelene Allen of Madison High School, and Ms. Samantha Drost of Central Aroostook High School have both been honored as Finance Educators of the Year, to publicly appreciate their outstanding efforts to improve... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that 18 health centers throughout Maine have been awarded a total of $4,732,797 to purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID-19 testing.“Community health centers are the backbone of Maine’s rural health care system, and they have been instrumental in helping to protect Mainers’ health during the current public health crisis,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “Expanded testing is crucial... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) led a bipartisan group of 30 Senators in a letter to Senate leadership advocating for the inclusion of aid for charitable nonprofits in any upcoming coronavirus relief legislation. Charitable nonprofits have been essential partners in the fight against coronavirus and its economic effects. In the letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of 19 Senators to urge the Administration to take immediate steps to support federal employees and contractors during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Russell T. Vought and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Michael J. Rigas, the Senators emphasize several actions that the administration should take to support... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) pressed Ambassador Kenneth Braithwaite, nominee to serve as Secretary of the Navy, on the importance of providing contract relief for shipyards experiencing schedule delays and incurring added expenses due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the industrial base benefits and financial savings associated with another round of multi-year procurement for the DDG-51, and emphasized the importance of improving America’s cyber... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced today that Maine lobstermen, fishermen, and other Mainers working in the seafood supply chain will receive a total of $20,166,476. The funding represents the fifth-highest amount being awarded among 31 recipients.Senator Collins and Representative Pingree worked with bipartisan groups of their colleagues from coastal states to secure $300 million in the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of 25 Senators in pushing for more federal assistance to America’s fishermen and seafood processors, who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In their letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the senators request that upcoming coronavirus relief legislation include new funding and provisions to support fisheries around the nation.“Our... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined 17 of his Senate colleagues in calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ramp up Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing at VA facilities nationwide and establish a framework for a large-scale strategy for national testing. In the letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, the senators outline recommendations for producing a testing strategy, including making testing kits available at all VA facilities,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) is urging top Senate leaders to include “substantial, additional aid” for states in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic impact, an issue with bipartisan support nationwide but currently facing political headwinds in the Senate. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator King emphasizes the challenges facing states as coronavirus’s effects... Continue Reading »
