Washington D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Maine State Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a total of $1,477,750 to support mental health and substance abuse programs throughout the state. This funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). “No community is immune from these heartbreaking disorders that have taken a toll on... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of 44 senators in urging Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In the letter, Senator King and his colleagues specifically request that the loan forgiveness application for loans under $250,000 be limited to one page in length.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – As the U.S. Senate considers bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) to support America’s national parks, a new National Park Service (NPS) study shows that in 2019, visitor spending in communities near national parks contributed $41.7 billion benefit to the nation’s economy and supported 340,500 jobs. This study comes on the heels of an another NPS study, which shows Senator King’s bipartisan Restore Our Parks would support an average of 40,300... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined five of his Senate colleagues in a letter urging the President to reestablish the National Security Council’s (NSC) Global Health Security Directorate (GHSD) as a separate entity from the Counterproliferation and Biodefense Directorate (CBD). The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for a central office to develop policies and coordinate responses to global health crises – a need first vocalized by Senator King in November... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) participated in a video conference with the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) to gain insight on the overall outlook on the seafood industry and listen to the challenges that Maine fishermen are facing as result of the coronavirus pandemic. During the call, the participants shared personal experiences, industry trends, and market observations to illustrate the variety of obstacles they are working to overcome.“For... Continue Reading »
Washington D.C. – Following a bipartisan push from U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new nationwide waiver that will allow schools and other meal sites to continue serving nutritious meals to all children for the remainder of the summer. Without an extension, this program would no longer have been available to more than 60 percent of Maine children currently receiving these... Continue Reading »
Washington D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Maine Head Start programs have been awarded a total of $2,650,659 to support low-income families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding was awarded through the CARES Act.“During this public health crisis, Head Start programs throughout our state have continued to provide children with key educational tools and resources, as well as access to healthy meals and health screenings,” said Senators Collins and King... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), contacted U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary David Bernhardt in a letter, seeking answers regarding the actions that the U.S. Park Police (over which the DOI has oversight) took on Monday, June 1st to aggressively suppress peaceful protesters demonstrating in and around Lafayette Square. Senator King, Ranking Member of the National Parks Subcommittee, writes that the President’s Park – which includes Lafayette... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) announced that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program has awarded $516,160 to two health centers to improve and expand telehealth services. Specifically, the FCC has awarded $270,172 to Central Maine Medical Center and $245,988 to Portland Community Health Center to upgrade technology at each facility and improve remote health care access for Maine people.“As Maine people... 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 floor of the U.S. Senate to highlight the importance of passing the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to support national parks and public lands across our nation. The bipartisan legislation includes Senator King’s Restore Our Parks Act, which would address the nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog in our national parks. A recent study by... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today that the U.S. Navy has awarded Bath Iron Works (BIW) a $42,772,449 contract modification to a previously awarded contract for lead yard services for the DDG-51-class destroyer program. Senator Collins is a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator King is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.“From maritime security patrols in the North Atlantic to freedom of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) joined Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to introduce the Visit America Act, which would set a visitation goal of 116 million annual international travelers to the United States by 2028, formally authorize the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and create a high-ranking position within the Department of Commerce focused on bolstering America’s travel and tourism industry and coordinating a tourism strategy... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), announced that a new National Parks Service (NPS) study of the Restore Our Parks Act – legislation introduced by Senator King and expected to be debated in the Senate next week – found that the legislation will support an average of 40,300 direct jobs and 100,100 direct and indirect jobs over the next five years, while helping to address the more than $12 billion backlog in long-delayed maintenance projects at the NPS. The Senate is... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) participated in a teleconference with the Maine Dental Association to discuss coronavirus-related challenges facing Maine’s dentists. Topics of discussion on today’s call included the economic challenges facing many dental practices, the importance of the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, legislation introduced by Senator King which was signed into law today, best practices to safely reopen dental offices, and concerns regarding... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his cosponsorship of the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Improvement Act – legislation that would adjust a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) loan program in order to help healthcare providers manage the financial pressures created by the coronavirus pandemic. If passed, the legislation would lower participants’ interest rate from 10.25% to 1%, extend the period of time providers have to repay the... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Maine hospitals have been awarded a total of $1,355,641 to support their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment is part of the second tranche of $350 million allocated by HHS through the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act and the CARES Act to bolster the U.S. health care system’s response to COVID-19. In total, Maine has received $2,991,576.“This... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), announced his cosponsorship of the Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act, bipartisan legislation aimed to encourage and support U.S. innovation in the race for 5G, through significant investments in technological alternatives to the security risks posed by Huawei and ZTE. The bill would reassert U.S. and Western leadership by encouraging competition that... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Senate passed H.R.7010, the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, which mirrors the bipartisan bill introduced on May 21st by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) – and will make vital changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) so it can better support small businesses. The legislation will make key adjustments to the PPP to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, including extending new loans over a longer... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C (June 2, 2020) - U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), co-chairs of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), today announced the release of a new Cyberspace Solarium Commission white paper, “Cybersecurity Lessons Learned from the Pandemic.” While many of the challenges identified in this white paper and the Commission’s final report have existed for the better part of four presidential administrations, the pandemic highlights the relevance of... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C.—In a bipartisan effort to prevent thousands of Maine children from losing access to meals, all four members of Maine’s Congressional Delegation wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to express their full support for a request by the Maine Department of Education for a waiver extension that is critical to maintaining children’s access to meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current waiver allows meal sites to serve free meals to... Continue Reading »
