AUGUSTA, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) presented veteran Paul Laird of Otisfield with the Humanitarian Service Medal to recognize his work in 1977 cleaning up the Enewetak Atoll, one of several small islands in the Pacific Ocean where the United States conducted multiple nuclear weapons tests from 1948-1952. Mr. Laird never received his recognition, and Senator King’s office recently worked with the Department of the Army to help secure it. Following the medal... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he has cosponsored the Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development (BUILD) Act, bipartisan legislation that would strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program. The Brownfields program, which enjoys strong bipartisan support, assists states and local communities through grants and technical assistance as they assess, safely clean up, and reuse Brownfield sites –... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) reintroduced legislation that would make it easier for small farms and ranches to provide locally-produced meats to consumers. The Processing Revival and Instrastate Meat Exemption Act, or PRIME Act, would give individual states the freedom to permit intrastate distribution of custom-slaughtered meat such as beef, pork, goat or lamb to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today questioned the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal, which will harm hundreds of thousands of people across Maine. Senator King specifically pressed OMB Director Mick Mulvaney on the proposed cuts to Medicaid, which are estimated to be in excess of $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Senator King asked if the Trump Administration – despite the President... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior urging him “in the strongest possible terms” to let the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument stand. In his letter, Senator King asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to complete the review promptly and outlined the extensive public input that was considered over a span of several years prior to the Monument’s designation and highlighted the economic boost it has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a months long bipartisan push from the Maine Delegation, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Bruce Poliquin and Chellie Pingree announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has agreed to review an application submitted by the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) that was previously rejected due to minor formatting issues. The Maine delegation has repeatedly raised this issue to the U.S. Secretary of Education,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), along with several families of children from across America who have survived cancer, joined together today to speak out against the American Health Care Act’s failure to provide Americans with preexisting conditions with affordable, quality care. In his remarks, Senator King emphasized how having health insurance can mean the difference between life and death, as it did for him... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following pressure from U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and his colleagues, the Trump Administration today released its 2018 budget proposal that preserves the majority of funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In remarks on the Senate floor last week, Senator King denounced the reported 95 percent reduction in ONDCP’s budget that President Trump was considering and then sent the President a letter urging him not to pursue the drastic... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement in response to the release of the President’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget: “While I appreciate the need to work towards a more fiscally responsible budget, I don’t believe the way to do so is by sharply cutting programs that support those who have fallen on hard times and by relying on... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today introduced legislation that would make it easier for Maine seafood dealers to export sea urchins and sea cucumbers outside of the United States. The legislation, which also has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Bruce Poliquin, would put an end to repetitive, mandatory inspections of urchins and sea cucumbers exported from the country. The unnecessary... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins, a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, and Angus King announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded $479,155.51 through the State Home Construction Grant Program for a recently completed renovation project at Maine Veterans’ Homes’ Scarborough facility. “Maine Veterans’ Homes provides veterans with the high-quality care and support... Continue Reading »
BANGOR, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today co-hosted a discussion with AARP Maine at the Bangor Public Library to highlight the harmful effects of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and share the stories of older, rural Maine people who are worried that the bill will dramatically increase their health care costs and make health insurance unaffordable and unattainable. The discussion specifically focused on the impact of the age tax, a provision within the AHCA that would allow... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin today sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requesting that they include funding for 24 VA medical facility leases in the President’s FY 2018 budget request. The letter also urges the administration to assume authorization of the leases and partner with members of Congress to raise awareness about the... Continue Reading »
PORTLAND, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today sent President Donald Trump a letter urging him not to cut funding to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Senator King’s letter comes in the wake of reports that the President is considering a drastic 95 percent reduction in budget for ONDCP, the federal government’s lead office in coordinating the fight against the opioid epidemic in states like Maine. The cuts would come at a time when the drug crisis... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, who oversees the Army Corps of Engineers, urging them to prioritize the critical need for maintenance dredging of York Harbor and the Saco River. Neither site has been dredged in more than two decades, creating significant safety and navigational access concerns. In their... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), along with Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), today reintroduced legislation to reform federal student loan repayment programs. The Repay Act, which Senators King and Burr originally introduced in 2014, would simplify the complex maze of federal student loan repayment programs by... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) pressed the nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Interior Department about the ongoing review of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. In his questioning of the nominee, Mr. David Bernhardt, Senator King asked him what he would consider “adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders” – the standard being used by the Interior Department to review... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision today to move forward on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to repeal existing net neutrality protections, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) – a strong proponent of the open internet – released the following statement: “Today’s vote by the FCC is a mistake. Rolling back these common-sense net neutrality... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have introduced the Medicaid Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion (Medicaid CARE) Act, bipartisan legislation that would expand access to substance abuse treatment for tens of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries across the country. The Medicaid CARE Act would increase addiction treatment services to help combat the heroin... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) announced today that they have sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee urging them to hold hearings on legislation that would help provide regulatory relief to smaller financial institutions. “We are deeply concerned that community banks and small credit unions are shouldering increasingly high compliance costs that stem from outdated, unnecessary, or... Continue Reading »
