WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Budget, released the following statement in response to the tax plan revealed today by the Trump administration: “My approach on taxes is simple: we don’t need to increase the already too-heavy burden on middle class families but, at the same time, we can’t tax our companies so much that they close up shop and move overseas, taking jobs away from already strapped working... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and the Penobscot Indian Nation have each received $600,000 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Indian Community Development Block Grant Program (ICDBG). “Indian Community Development Block Grants provide important assistance to tribal communities working to maintain and improve safe living environments,” said Senators Collins and King in a... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During today’s telehealth expo hosted by the Senate Broadband Caucus and American Telemedicine Association, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a co-founder of the Senate Broadband Caucus, commended the Senate passage of the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act. The bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Senator King and passed by the Senate on Tuesday night, would help address the needs of Medicare recipients... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the University of Maine System will receive a grant of $454,532 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to create the Maine Mass Timber Commercialization Center, which will establish a center for forest industry partners, trade organization, construction firms, architects, and other key stakeholders to revitalize and diversify Maine’s forest-based economy by advancing new forest products... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today questioned General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the risks of rising tensions with North Korea. “I have a queasy feeling that we’re in 1914, stumbling towards Sarajevo,” said Senator King during his questioning. “And what worries me is not an instantaneous nuclear confrontation, but an accidental escalation based upon the rhetoric that’s going back and forth.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement in response to the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary score of the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill: “Today’s CBO report on the previous version of Graham-Cassidy does nothing to alleviate concerns raised in outside studies that the plan will hurt Maine people. The latest version – which the CBO will not score before the September 30th deadline – is merely an attempt to... Continue Reading »
BRUNSWICK, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today wrote to the Unicode Consortium requesting it include a new lobster emoji in the 2018 release of its standard character set. The new emoji would be available for use on social media platforms and smartphones. Currently, emoji exist for crabs, shrimp, fish, and other marine animals, but not lobsters. A lobster emoji, however, is currently short-listed to be added in, subject to approval by the Consortium’s Technical Committee at... Continue Reading »
JACKMAN, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today met with local business leaders, town officials, health professionals and community members in Jackman to hear their concerns about the health care crisis facing the Jackman community. Senator King toured the Jackman Community Health Center, where Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) now operates as the town’s sole emergency medicine provider, and hosted a roundtable discussion on the challenges related to the decreased... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to announce the introduction of the Protecting Jessie Grubb’s Legacy Act (Legacy Act), legislation to help ensure that medical professionals have full knowledge of their patients’ previous opioid addiction if the patient gives consent. This will improve health care coordination and reduce the risk of overdose death for people with substance use disorders by allowing their... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today joined a bipartisan group of Senators to call for immediate action to extend critical funding for community health centers before funding runs out at the end of this month. In a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Collins, King and 68 other Senators expressed their strong support for community health centers, which provide access to cost-effective primary and preventive care for... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senators King (I-Maine), Ernst (R-Iowa), Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase funding to successful U.S. Department of Agriculture export promotion programs and help U.S. farmers maintain an edge in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. The bill, the Cultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agricultural Trade and Exports (CREAATE) Act, aims to revitalize the USDA’s export... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senators King (I-Maine), Ernst (R-Iowa), Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Collins (R-Maine) introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase funding to successful U.S. Department of Agriculture export promotion programs and help U.S. farmers maintain an edge in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. The bill, theCultivating Revitalization by Expanding American Agricultural Trade and Exports (CREAATE) Act, aims to revitalize the USDA’s... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in response to yet another iteration of a health care proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act. “Mr. President, over the past several weeks there have been real discussions, bipartisan discussions about fixing the problems in the affordable care act, about controlling the growth of premiums, about being sure that there is some... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today announced that the U.S. Senate passed the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last night with key victories for Maine. The bill, passed by the Senate with a vote of 89-8, now heads to conference committee to reconcile differences with the NDAA passed by the House of Representatives. “The men and women in our Armed Forces and in defense related industries... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today announced that the Western Governors’ Association, a bipartisan group of 19 governors from Western states and 3 governors from Western U.S. territories, has endorsed the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by the Senators earlier this year, seeks to protect America’s electric grid from cyber-attacks. The WGA expressed their support in a letter earlier this... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Angus King announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging has awarded MaineHealth a grant of $957,096 to provide additional training to Alzheimer’s caregivers and expand the reach of dementia-capable health care services. “There are approximately 27,000 people in Maine living with Alzheimer’s disease today, and that number will... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today announced his opposition to a proposed amendment in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would create a revised Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process beginning in 2021. “With heightened tensions around the world, our country’s national security must be a top priority, and a base closure round at this time is not in our national security interests. As we saw with the decisions to close Brunswick Naval... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined a bipartisan group of 36 U.S. Senators in asking the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the sale of nearly $2 million in Equifax securities held by high-level Equifax executives shortly after the company learned of a massive cybersecurity breach. Equifax, a major consumer credit reporting agency, recently disclosed that... Continue Reading »
PORTLAND, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement today in recognition of the 16th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: “Sixteen years ago today, terror struck at the heart of America. On this day of reflection and remembrance, we join together to remember those we lost as we pay tribute to their memories by recommitting ourselves to the very values that were attacked that day. Hope, love and compassion rose above the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded Bates College a total of $249,760 through its National Leadership Grants for Libraries program. This award will support Bates’ expansion of the Diverse Book Finder, a repository for children’s books, and further the development of its analysis and search engine capabilities to identify racial representation gaps in children’s... Continue Reading »
