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 »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined 15 of his Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that would dramatically increase America’s national response to and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic through expanded public service programs. The Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National Service Act would fund 750,000 national service positions over a three-year response and recovery period, in part to meet the projected need for as many as 300,000... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), nominee to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), on the importance of fact-based intelligence collection and analysis, wholly independent from political considerations. During his questioning, Senator King pressed to Congressman Ratcliffe to clearly confirm under oath that he will follow facts where they lead, regardless of political consequences, make himself available to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and 32 of his Senate colleagues are making a bipartisan push to support America’s entire scientific research community during the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus-related research is currently a top federal government priority, but most other research has slowed or stopped due to closures of campuses and laboratories. The people who comprise the research workforce – graduate students, postdocs, principal investigators, and technical support... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden wrote to Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie, urging him to continue to prioritize providing additional testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) at the VA Maine Healthcare System and across the entire Veterans Health Administration.“The staff and leadership at Togus in Maine are committed to serving their patients during this crisis,... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—In a letter to President Donald Trump today highlighting the financial strain Maine’s state and local governments are experiencing as a direct result of COVID-19, Maine’s Congressional Delegation advocated for providing additional federal assistance to states and municipalities that have lost substantial revenue resulting from the current public health and economic crisis. U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) is urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take steps to support Maine’s potato and wild blueberry industries, which are experiencing significant shifts in market demand in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic. In letters to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senator King highlights the economic and cultural importance of these industries to Maine communities, and urges USDA to tailor economic relief programs for each specific... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has cosponsored legislation that outlines a specific, responsive framework for a coronavirus response by federalizing the supply chain for critical medical supplies and equipment, that includes oversight procedures to maintain integrity. The Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act requires the president to utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act to mobilize a federal... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that 121 Maine rural health care providers—including hospitals, clinics, and community health centers—will receive $131,501,672 through the CARES Act that they voted for. Senators Collins and King have previously announced a total of $187,806,676 for Maine hospitals and other health care providers to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.“Keeping the doors open to rural hospitals is critical to helping protect the... Continue Reading »
LEWISTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Senator Angus King (I-ME) took action today to protect access to health care and preserve important economic drivers in rural Maine. The lawmakers pressed Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza to amend her agency’s yet-to-be finalized Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) rules to make non-profit critical access hospitals currently undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization, like Calais Regional Hospital... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – This morning, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined the Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) for a teleconference discussing the significant role that Maine’s nonprofits are playing in the coronavirus response in communities across Maine, and the challenges these organizations are facing due to the pandemic. During the call, Senator King discussed the importance of including funding for nonprofits in future Congressional relief packages, and highlighted the best ways Maine... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) led a bipartisan group of Senators in a letter urging Senate Leadership and top appropriators to include funding in the next coronavirus relief package to allow the Department of Defense to appropriately adjust contracts for projects suffering schedule days or production inefficiency as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In their letter, Senators King, Collins, and their colleagues urge... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined 35 other senators in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase reimbursements for telephone-based, or audio-only, telehealth services to equal other audio-visual telehealth and in-person visitation reimbursements. Many Americans do not have access to reliable broadband, making it nearly impossible to use video-sharing... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – With the coronavirus pandemic revealing dire deficiencies in the public health system after decades of insufficient investment, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a group of 9 Senators calling for increased funding for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data modernization initiative. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senators stressed the need for this additional funding in upcoming... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King urged the Administration to release up to $10 billion in loans to the United States Postal Service (USPS) – as authorized by Congress through the CARES ACT – in order to ensure the service can continue to operate during the coronavirus and in the future. In his letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senator King highlights the USPS’s vital role in American society, including its critical place in facilitating communication, commerce, and... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) participated in a video teleconference with YMCA Youth Advocates from Maine and across the nation to discuss the Senate’s efforts to support youth and nonprofits amid the coronavirus pandemic. Organizations like the YMCA are providing children and teens community spaces online where they can participate in activities, learn in a safe environment, and make new friends. Today’s conversation moderated by Martin Brozman, Maine YMCA Youth... Continue Reading »
