WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the dismantling of the Department of Education: “The onslaught of actions from this administration in eight weeks have harmed veterans, farmers, consumers, disease experts, our national security, democracies worldwide — and now America’s public school students and teachers are at risk due to the announcement that the President intends to dismantle... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to provide more combat-injured veterans with their full earned benefits. The Major Richard Star Act would adjust the qualifications for full benefits to include tens of thousands of combat-injured veterans who are left out under the existing law. Currently, only veterans with disability ratings above 50 percent, and with more than 20 years of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), are expressing their concerns about the potential loss of Department of Defense (DoD) firefighters on probationary status at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). In a letter to Acting Secretary of the Navy Terrence Emmert, the Senators make clear the importance of having a highly trained firefighting force, and urged the Secretary to provide clear and consistent... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King is demanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reverse its cancelation of food purchase programs for food banks, schools and childcare centers in Maine and across the United States. In a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins from King and a number of his colleagues, the Senators said the reported $1 billion in cancelled purchases by the USDA adds further pain at a time of high food prices and instability within U.S. agricultural markets. “We... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and member of SSCI and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today lauded the passage of bipartisan legislation that would crack down on illegal fentanyl trafficking. The Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act will permanently classify... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King today released the below statement following his vote to advance a Continuing Resolution funding the government and averting a government shutdown “This afternoon the Senate has to take a very important and difficult vote. It’s a choice between two terrible options: the no good, very bad Continuing Resolution which you’ve heard so much about and a government shutdown which I believe could be even worse. “The problem is that with a shutdown the President,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce the risk of veteran suicide. The Saving Our Veterans’ Lives Act would authorize a program through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide free firearm lockboxes to veterans to put time and space between at-risk individuals and lethal means, such as firearms. Firearms are the most common means used by... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is introducing bipartisan legislation to help secure U.S. access to critical mineral supply chains and reduce China’s influence in America’s economy. The Critical Minerals Security Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate the global supply and ownership of critical minerals, establish a process to assist U.S. companies seeking to divest critical minerals operations in foreign countries, and develop a method for sharing... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), alongside members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) and the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC), sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins raising concerns about a leaked report that highlights plans called for by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut an additional 83,000 VA employees by the end of the fiscal year. If implemented, the layoffs would undo all the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are introducing bipartisan legislation to support volunteer programs that deliver food to older, more vulnerable Americans. The Delivering Elderly Lunches and Increasing Volunteer Engagement and Reimbursements (DELIVER) Act would help provide meals to more seniors across Maine and America by increasing the charitable mileage tax deduction rate from its current 14 cents per mile to match the standard business rate of 70... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) pressed Mark Engelbaum, the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Human Resources and Administration / Operations, Security and Preparedness at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), about the lack of communication from the VA about cancelled contracts that have Maine’s veteran community concerned. The hearing comes on the heels of mass firings and contract cancellations... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) is demanding Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins provide transparency into the cancellation of 585 VA contracts. In a letter to Secretary Collins, the Senator requested a full list of all the contracts cancelled and made clear that arbitrary, reckless cancellations will adversely impact veteran care in Maine and across the country. At the end of February, the VA... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), are cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to make child care more affordable and accessible for Maine families. The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act would strengthen existing tax credits to lower child care costs and increase the supply of child care providers. Since 1990, the cost of child care and preschool has increased by 263%, forcing many families in Maine and nationwide to make difficult decisions... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) released the following statement following the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) decision – and reversal – to end two contracts for people in Maine. The first contract allows parents to request a Social Security number before leaving the hospital and the second contract shares recorded deaths with Social Security: "Adding costly, time-consuming steps to the Social Security number registration process right after the birth of an infant... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today applauded the passage of the bipartisan U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2025 that would invest $30.45 billion into the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026. This legislation has key King-backed provisions that will directly assist Coast Guard members in Maine and across the nation, including efforts to bolster mental health services for military members... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senator Angus King questioned three witnesses about the adverse impact of the Republican-led House and Senate not passing annual federal spending bills on military capability and production. During the hearing, Senator King spoke with David Berteau, the President and Chief Executive Office of the Professional Services Council; Dr. Christine Michienzi, the former Senior Technology Advisor to the Under... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC) and Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), are introducing legislation aiming to help veterans in rural areas get transportation to health care appointments. The Supporting Rural Veterans Access to Healthcare Services Act, would reauthorize the Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) Program, a service that provides roughly 2.7... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), are raising concern over a proposed spending limit of $1 on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) purchasing cards — the cards used to pay for gas to transport disabled veterans to appointments, buy medical supplies, and more. The drastically reduced spending limit proposed by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) released the following statement after the conclusion of President Trump’s first joint address to Congress of his second White House term: “Prices are rising, government services are declining, and Putin is smiling — all as the results of the President’s recent actions with tariff threats, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Ukraine. Nothing said or claimed tonight changes any of that. I stand ready to work with any of my... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Douglas Collins demanding accountability for recent mass layoffs at the agency and calling on the administration to uphold its commitment to veterans’ health and well-being. A recent series of indiscriminate VA layoffs “will harm our nation’s veterans…” Golden and King wrote. “... Across-the-board layoffs exacerbate an already tenuous... Continue Reading »
