WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded two federal grants totaling $105,000 to the Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport. The first grant awards $50,000 to fund a wildlife hazard assessment in order to identify wildlife species in the area and assess their numbers, locations, and local movement. The second grant provides $55,000 for the necessary... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded a federal grant in the amount of $193,500 to Oxford County Regional Airport for the construction of a perimeter fence. The fence is intended to increase security and safety by preventing unauthorized access to the property and deterring wildlife and people from inadvertently traversing the runway. “Maine... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Angus King (I-ME) released the following statement regarding today’s announcement that the U.S. Navy will not pursue plans to repair the USS MIAMI. "We are disappointed by the Navy’s decision to discontinue repairs to the USS MIAMI. Inactivating the MIAMI will mean a loss to our nuclear submarine fleet – yet another unfortunate consequence of the across-the-board... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King released the following statement today after being notified by the Department of Defense (DOD) that the number of furlough days DOD civilian employees will have to endure this fiscal year has been reduced from eleven to six: “While we certainly welcome Secretary Hagel’s announcement today, as well as the sense of relief that it may bring to DOD civilian employees across Maine, we’re still keenly aware of the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced today that the U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) a contract modification for DDG-1000 class services worth $212,000,000. This contract will allow BIW to build the deckhouse, hangar, and aft vertical launch system (VLS) for the third DDG-1000 ship. “This... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) have joined together to introduce legislation that would direct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to more accurately reflect the cost-savings of preventive healthcare, including screenings. The Preventive Health Savings Act of 2013 (S. 1422) would also allow the Chairman or Ranking Member of the House or Senate Budget Committee, or the health committees – HELP, Finance, Ways and Means, or... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an ongoing effort to keep folks at home informed of his work in the Senate, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) took a few minutes to discuss the events of this past week in the nation’s capital. In his weekly recap, Senator King addressed: His visit to New Balance’s manufacturing facility in Norridgewock with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “I wanted him to see the people, to see the factory, to see the work that they do, and to understand how... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) released the following statement today after the Senate failed, by a vote of 54-43, to invoke cloture on S. 1243, the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. Although the motion received a clear majority, it failed to get the 60 votes necessary under Senate rules. Senator King said: “For years, Republicans in the Senate have criticized Democrats for governing irresponsibly by conducting business outside... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today praised the passage of the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. Senator King, along with Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tom Carper (D-DE), Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) crafted the bipartisan compromise and led the fight for its passage in the Senate. The bill is a permanent-fix that lowers student loan interest rates for all students. It will now head to the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the University of Maine, along with partners Maine Maritime Academy, Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, received a $983,997 grant from the National Science Foundation to design, develop, and construct a unique, multidirectional Wind-Wave generating system called W2. Once completed, W2 will be able to simulate wave and wind conditions similar to those found in... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and U.S. Senator Angus King today announced that ten Maine airports have been awarded federal grants, totaling more than $5.1 million, from the Federal Aviation Administration to be used for general improvements and safety enhancements. “Maine's large geographic area makes air travel an important transportation option that connects towns and cities... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate last night unanimously passed a resolution authored by Senators Susan Collins and Angus King that designates August 7th, 2013 as “National Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day”. Senators Collins and King introduced the resolution in advance of August 7th, which will mark the 224th anniversary of President George Washington’s signing of the Lighthouse Act of 1789. The legislation established the federal government’s role in... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) today introduced the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2013, a bill that would create a Regulatory Improvement Commission to review outdated regulations with the goal of modifying, consolidating, or repealing regulations in order to reduce compliance costs, encourage growth and innovation, and improve competitiveness. “Business owners and entrepreneurs in Maine regularly tell me that the single greatest obstacle to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representative Mike Michaud today welcomed United States Trade Representative Michael Froman to Maine, where he joined Senator King and Representative Michaud on a tour of New Balance’s manufacturing facility in Norridgewock. Senator Collins, who is managing the Senate Transportation and Housing and Urban Development funding bill on the Senate floor, was not able to join the tour. She last visited the New Balance... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an ongoing effort to keep folks at home informed of his work in the Senate, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) took a few minutes to discuss the events of this past week in the nation’s capital. In his weekly recap, Senator King addressed: Final passage of the “Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act” by a vote of 81-18. The bill, introduced by Senators King, Manchin, Burr, Coburn, Carper, and Alexander, provides a long-term fix that lowers student loan... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Richard Burr (R-NC), Angus King (I-ME), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announced the passage of the “Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act” by a vote of 81-18, which provides a long-term fix that lowers student interest rates for all students. “Today’s bipartisan vote marks an important step forward for this institution, for our students, and for the nation. We have... Continue Reading »
Mr. President, we've been hearing really two debates around here in the last few days, in fact in the last few weeks and months, about student loans. Both are important, but they're separate and I think they need to be separated and thought of as two separate debates as we consider the issue that's before us this afternoon. The first and the larger issue is the cost of college. It's too high. Everyone agrees to that, and in fact the cost of college, of higher education, has exploded in the last... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined Representative Mike Michaud in praising the U.S. Department of Transportation announcement that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved over $3 million for improvements at the Princeton Municipal Airport and the Bangor International Airport. “These investments in Maine’s airport infrastructure are critical not only to the safety of airport staff and the traveling public, but also to our... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Budget Committee hearing today to evaluate the impact of sequestration on national security and the economy, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) criticized Congress’s inability to pass a budget that replaces sequestration, citing that failure as the most serious threat to United States national security. “I haven’t yet heard anybody say a good word about the sequester in this building for the past six months, but we still have it. It’s... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today announced the first of two rotations of constituent outreach hours for the month of August. Constituent outreach hours, which are part of Senator King’s “Your Government, Your Neighborhood” initiative, offer an opportunity for area residents to meet directly with a staff representative to discuss specific problems, legislative issues, or any concerns regarding federal government agencies. No appointment... Continue Reading »
