WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that State Directors from the six states affected by the New England Multispecies Groundfish Fishery disaster reached agreement on a plan to allocate the $32.8 million that was secured for this disaster in the Fiscal Year 2014 funding bill. This consensus plan comes after many meetings between state directors and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that a combined total of $3,800,000 in federal funding has been awarded for the assessment and cleanup of Brownfield 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 very encouraged that the EPA has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), and Bob Casey (D-PA) today sent a letter to Lawrence Strickling, the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), requesting an update on the NTIA’s plan to support state efforts to migrate to Next Generation 9-1-1. The Senators are making this request following the tragic death of Timothy Davison of... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – In advance of Memorial Day, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today released a statement to be read by his representatives at numerous events throughout Maine over the holiday weekend. The remarks, which honor the men and women who have served our country, will be read at over a dozen Memorial Day celebrations this weekend from Biddeford to Caribou. Senator King’s complete remarks are below: “We gather this Memorial Day to proudly remember those who gave their... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of his ongoing effort to keep the people of Maine informed of his work in Washington, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) sat down to discuss this week’s events in the nation’s capital. In his weekly address Senator King discussed: The Senate Armed Services Committee’s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Senator King secured Hubzone and shipbuilding victories in the bill passed out of committee on Thursday. The recent... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced today that the Committee has approved the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a provision authored by him to improve the eligibility criteria of HUBZones located at former U.S. military installations closed through the so-called “Base Closure and Realignment,” or BRAC process. The bill also contains provisions pushed by King to fully fund... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today applauded the successful inclusion of an amendment by Senator Susan Collins to appropriations legislation that would require all fresh fruits and vegetables, including fresh white potatoes, to be included in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. “This amendment is a tremendous victory for Maine potato farmers and for low income... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that three Maine child development programs will be receiving a combined $10,097,840 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to continue area Head Start programs. Specifically, the funding will be allocated as follows: Aroostook County Action Program in Presque Isle: $3,030,735 Penquis Community Action Program, Inc. in Bangor: $4,278,545 Southern Kennebec Child Development... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined with thirteen of his colleagues to introduce legislation that would tighten rules on corporate tax avoidance through so-called “inversion”, the practice of shifting a corporation’s tax residence overseas through acquisition of an offshore company to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. The Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014 would effectively impose a two-year moratorium on inversions to prevent the loss of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, today welcomed an announcement from Attorney General Eric Holder that a U.S. Grand Jury has charged members of the Chinese military with conducting economic cyber-espionage against American companies: “For far too long hackers in China have stolen our intellectual property, our technology blueprints, our business plans – in effect, our ideas – which has put some Americans... Continue Reading »
SKOWHEGAN, ME – Following reports that President Obama’s Administration has asked for additional time for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to review the Senate Intelligence Committee’s study of the Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement: “These reports are deeply troubling. The Administration and the CIA have had the substance of this study... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) renewed his push to promote the economic and environmental benefits of biomass thermal energy today by filing the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013 as an amendment to legislation pending before the Senate that would renew a series of tax relief measures. King originally introduced the legislation last year. “Thermal biomass energy systems, like wood pellet boilers, offer an efficient and affordable way to generate clean... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) welcomed an announcement from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Senate Floor this morning that the Senate Judiciary Committee will soon hold a hearing on a proposed Constitutional amendment to limit political funding of campaigns: “I welcome the Majority Leader’s announcement today and hope we move quickly to vote on the amendment. The enormous tidal wave of money in politics must not drown out the voices of ordinary... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to an attempt to repeal the Medical Device Tax that helps fund the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today filed an amendment that would allow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to shed light on medical device prices in an effort to help hospitals negotiate better prices for critical medical equipment. “It’s common sense – if the Senate votes to repeal the medical device tax, then we will need to make it... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) today introduced legislation that would make it easier for service-disabled veterans to do business with the federal government by eliminating confusing differences between veterans contracting programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Small Business Administration. “America’s service-disabled veterans and their families have sacrificed to defend our country and safeguard the... Continue Reading »
This Week in Washington: Support for Libraries, Meeting with Award-Winners, Questioning Federal Reserve Chair, and Energy Efficiency Bill WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of his ongoing effort to keep the people of Maine informed of his work in Washington, U.S. Senator Angus King sat down to discuss this week’s events in the nation’s capital. In his weekly address Senator King discussed: The importance of public libraries and his participation in National Library Legislative... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $2,182,579 in competitive grant funding to Maine communities for local airport improvements. “Maine’s aviation infrastructure keeps its residents connected to the rest of the country and the world and plays a vital role in supporting local businesses, especially in the state's more rural regions,”... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, along with 20 of their colleagues, today urged President Obama to consider the impacts on American manufacturing and families that rely on natural gas for heat when looking to approve new natural gas export facilities. In a letter to the President, Collins, King, and their colleagues pointed out that families saw skyrocketing energy bills this winter in some parts of the country faced with short supplies of natural gas and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a question from U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) during a Senate Budget Committee Hearing today, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board Janet Yellen announced her support for the nomination of a candidate with community bank experience to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. In a letter last month, King, along with a bipartisan group of his colleagues, had urged President Obama to nominate just such a candidate. “Chairwoman Yellen is absolutely right... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of the Senate Budget Committee Hearing today with Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen on the country’s fiscal and economic outlook, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of that committee, released the following statement: “Community banks are as American as George Bailey, Uncle Billy, and Clarence. They are the very foundation of our Main Streets and the cornerstones of our small towns. When big financial institutions crumbled during... Continue Reading »
