WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho). Both Senators are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR). The legislation would defend the U.S. energy grid by partnering with industry to utilize engineering concepts to remove vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to access the grid through... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON D.C.– Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to President Donald Trump expressing their concern regarding the consideration to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.“If you decide to follow through with your decision to pull our troops out of Syria, any remnants of ISIS in Syria will surely renew and embolden their efforts in the region. However, ISIS... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today joined a group of his Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to condemn the recent decision in Texas v. United States which declared the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional. If the decision stands, 20 million Americans could be left without health insurance and millions of families across the country could see healthcare costs rise.“It is not too late for you to condemn this decision by requesting a stay and taking steps to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today applauded an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) outlining its rules for a new rural broadband pilot program. The program, which includes several provisions supported by King, is offering up to $600 million in loans and grants to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. Congress created and allocated the funding for the pilot program in the March 2018 omnibus appropriations bill. “In rural... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) announced that the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $100,000 to the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township to fund a study for a potential hydrogen-powered Business/Internet/Data Center on the Passamaquoddy reservation. Results of this study will identify the resources necessary for sustainable operations—including workforce development, capital, business management, legal services, and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed the FIRST Step Act, a bipartisan bill cosponsored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine), among others. The legislation, which passed by a vote of 87-12, would improve fairness in sentencing of federal crimes, promote public safety, and reduce recidivism. The bill was introduced by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and combines prison reform proposals that overwhelmingly passed in the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, spoke on the Senate floor to advocate for the Restore Our Parks Act, a bipartisan bill led by that would address the $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service (NPS). Senator King is a lead sponsor of the bipartisan bill along with Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Lamar Alexander... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) spoke on the Senate floor to pay tribute to Kay Rand, his longtime chief of staff who will be leaving the Senator’s office in January. Rand, a native of Ashland, Maine, has served as Senator King’s chief of staff since he was sworn-in in 2013, and was King’s chief of staff during both of his terms as Maine’s governor. She also led both of Senator King’s gubernatorial campaigns and his 2012 Senate campaign. After six years of traveling... Continue Reading »
PORTLAND, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his committee assignments for the 116th Congress, when Senator King will continue to serve on the Armed Services Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Rules & Administration Committee.“I ran for re-election for one simple reason: there’s more work to be done,” said Senator King. “I’ve spent six years working to keep Maine people safe by strengthening America’s national... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the co-chair of the Working Forest Caucus, led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture supporting an award program for educational institutes who explore new potential uses for mass timber. In the letter, which was also signed by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Senators point to the previous success of similar programs through... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. - The Senate unanimously passed a resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King designating Saturday, December 15, 2018, as “Wreaths Across America Day.” On December 15, a convoy of volunteers is scheduled to arrive at Arlington National Cemetery to lay Maine-made balsam wreaths at the headstones of American veterans interred there.Patriot Guard Riders will once again continue their tradition of escorting the wreath trucks from Maine down the East Coast,... Continue Reading »
SCARBOROUGH, ME – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed the Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act, a bill led by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), co-chairs of the Senate Broadband Caucus. The bipartisan bill requires the Bureau of Economic Analysis to conduct a study of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the U.S. economy. While the federal government measures the economic impact of many industries, it does not... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, voted in support of Senate Joint Resolution 54, directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from the ongoing civil war between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis in Yemen pursuant to the 1973 War Powers Resolution. This is the first time a chamber of Congress has ever voted to invoke the War Powers Resolution. This... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a group of his Senate colleagues in a letter calling for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Bernard McNamee to recuse himself from any future business at FERC involving the potential subsidization of coal and nuclear plants. In the letter, the senators expressed concerns regarding Mr. McNamee’s actions in his previous role at the Department of Energy (DOE) in developing and filing a rule to subsidize failing... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, applauded the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) move to make affordable and reliable broadband more accessible to rural Americans. Today’s vote by the FCC increases funding to rural broadband providers who serve some of the nation’s most rural communities, ensuring that these providers can continue to expand access to higher-speed broadband in rural areas. Senator King has pushed for... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Angus King (I-Maine) voted to overturn the U.S. Treasury Department's controversial decision that allows special interests to hide their donors from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In July, the Treasury Department and the IRS eliminated the requirement for certain types of tax-exempt organizations to report the identities of major donors to the IRS, which allowed "dark money" donors to hide their contributions to tax-exempt non-profit organizations that engage... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a statement submitted to the Congressional Record, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) recognized Harry Hafford, the outgoing Chairman of the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery (NMVC). Hafford, an Army veteran and Maine native who returned to his home state after a career working for General Motors, was a founding member of the NMVC and has served as the Chairman since 2003. He will be stepping down from his post at the end of the year. A representative from Senator King’s... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – In a win for Maine dairy farmers, an amendment authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) that will promote innovation and increase demand for milk products was included in the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill. The final agreement comes after the Senate and House of Representatives worked for weeks to reconcile the differences between each chamber’s version of the legislation. The 2018 Farm Bill received overwhelming bipartisan support and passed the... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – Following a push from U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), the final conference report of the 2018 Farm Bill does not include an amendment harmful to Maine that would have required state and local governments to accept products from other states even if those products violate standards and regulations enacted in the importing state. The Farm Bill passed the Senate by a vote of 87-13 and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.In... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) voted in favor of the conference report to H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, more commonly known as the Farm Bill. The report, which passed by a vote of 87 to 13, includes a number of provisions that Senator King supported that will help Maine’s farmers and rural communities. “Overwhelming bipartisan votes like today’s don’t come easy – they’re the product of a lot of hard work, compromise, and consensus-building.... Continue Reading »
