Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) announced that the State of Maine has received a total of $683,464 to help families heat their homes this winter. This funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).This funding represents the first installment of the five-year, $500 million investment in LIHEAP included in... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Office of Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced Senator King is joining a group of his Senate colleagues in urging the Biden administration to extend their guidance requiring insurance companies to pay for rapid COVID-19 tests to include Medicare recipients. Currently, most private insurance companies are required to cover the cost of up to eight over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests per person, per month, but the 61 million Americans and almost... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has been awarded $500,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to establish a comprehensive Maine aquaculture workforce training program that will help students pursue careers in the growing field. In launching the program, GMRI will work with the Maine Department of Labor and multiple community colleges to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced $1,514,211 in American Rescue Plan funding for the University of Maine System to support tailored evidence-informed training development within health profession and nursing training activities. The Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program’s curriculum aims to help reduce burnout and promote resilience among health care students, residents, health care professionals,... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to begin holding Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearings by this summer, to give milk producers a greater voice in dairy pricing. These hearings would reevaluate how the price of Class I (or fluid) milk is calculated and pave the way for important changes to better support the dairy industry. Class I, or fluid milk, is milk that is sold... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — In response to a serious and sustained shortage of school bus drivers across Maine, the state’s congressional delegation is pushing the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to take steps to safely address the urgent need for additional drivers. The lawmakers, in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, called for the agency to delay or temporarily waive certain training and certification requirements that could keep prospective bus drivers from quickly filling open... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) voted to adjust the Senate’s procedures to defend the democratic process and voting rights after a GOP filibuster blocked key voting rights protections. Long reluctant to change the filibuster, Senator King signaled in March 2021 that he would change his thinking if the tactic was used to “simply obstruct” rather than in good faith as a negotiating tool.Earlier this evening, he spoke on the Senate floor urging this limited reform, but... Continue Reading »
Watch Senator King’s floor speech hereWASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate to call for adjustments of Senate procedures to defend the democratic process against partisan restrictions of voting rights in 19 state legislatures nationwide. Long reluctant to change the filibuster, Senator King signaled in March 2021 that he would change his thinking if the tactic was used to “simply obstruct” rather than in good faith as a... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) voted to close debate on both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, two bills he has co-sponsored to defend voting rights in the face of state-level laws that would make it harder for millions of Americans to exercise their Constitutional right to vote. The bills were blocked by a Republican filibuster – the second time that each bill had been prevented from moving forward by a GOP blockade. In his... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that four Maine dredging projects in Ogunquit, Scarborough, Milbridge, and Bar Harbor totaling $18,455,000 were included in the Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan for Fiscal Year 2022 – funding secured through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law last November. “These critical dredging projects for Bar Harbor as well as rivers in Ogunquit, Milbridge, and Scarborough will help address... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Angus King today announced that nine Maine healthcare centers will be receiving $23,518,948 in American Rescue Plan funding to address the strains created by the COVID-19 pandemic and support high-quality care in rural areas. The funding is being distributed to providers who service rural Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries, and will be used to help providers keep their doors open, address workforce challenges, and make... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released a statement in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In his statement, which comes days ahead of planned Senate votes on voting rights legislation, Senator King calls for the Senate to carry forward the civil rights legend’s work by taking action to defend ballot access for all Americans.“All across the country, the massive legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is being honored today as Americans of all backgrounds pause to... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – ICYMI, today Senator Angus King published an op-ed in TIME laying out the case to pass voting rights and protect our democracy - even if it means making changes to the filibuster. The op-ed marks the latest push in Senator King’s push to secure the right to vote; earlier this week, he highlighted how many of the proposed reforms are already standard practice in Maine. The Right to Vote Is More Important Than the FilibusterWhen I was Governor of Maine, I used to have a... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, today pressed top Pentagon nominees on the United States’ nuclear posture and the need for a strong nuclear deterrent. King asked Dr. Celeste Wallander – the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs – her thoughts on how a “no first use” policy for nuclear weapons would affect America’s national security by restricting America’s defense capabilities... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today urged a top Pentagon nominee to rethink their strategy for stopping illegal drug shipments from entering the country. In a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, King asked Melissa Dalton – the nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs – to evaluate the Department of Defense’s inadequate response to the “invasion” of drugs that are killing nearly two Maine people a day. Senator King rejected... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) are introducing legislation seeking to improve critical quality-of-life services and programs for American seniors. The Innovations in Aging Act would provide funding for the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to evaluate opportunities to improve essential aging services, including home-delivered meal programs and long-term care. The number of U.S. adults aged 85 and older is projected to more than double by... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today voted to confirm Alan Davidson as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In his new role, Davidson will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of the historic broadband investments included in last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Included in this historic $65 billion broadband funding was $40 billion reflecting Senator King’s bipartisan BRIDGE Act, which is designed... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today toured Bath Iron Works (BIW) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) with Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to highlight the importance of the shipyards to America’s national security and Maine communities. During the tour, Senator King and Senator Tester, the Chair of the Senate’s Defense Appropriations subcommittee, viewed some of the work being done at the facilities. Throughout the visit, Senator King stressed the importance of providing the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King released a statement marking the one year anniversary of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In the full statement, which can be read below, King reflects on the dangers of that day and the continued threats to America’s democracy fueled by demonstrably false claims about the 2020 Presidential election. Citing the need to defend democracy for the next generation, King urged his colleagues from both parties to “tell the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today stressed the urgent need for the United States Capitol Police (USCP) to be “thinking the unthinkable” on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, and improve their efforts to plan for future threats. King, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, pressed USCP Chief Tom Manger to ensure there is adequate communication, coordination, and intelligence sharing between the USCP and other... Continue Reading »
