BANGOR, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) delivered remarks at the Maine Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Annual Convention in Bangor where he thanked the veterans for their service to our nation and outlined five of his top priorities for veterans in Washington.

“We will only be the land of the free as long as we are the home of the brave – and you’re it,” Senator King said in his remarks. “You’re the people who were and are brave, and who took up the challenge of representing and defending this country under the most difficult circumstances any of us can imagine.”

Senator King also outlined several of his priorities to support Maine veterans, including: 1) legislation he has introduced to modernize the appeals process for veterans looking to obtain benefits; 2) legislation he voted in favor of this week that would provide the Secretary of Veterans Affairs more authority to fire employees for misconduct; 3) his opposition to attempts to privatize the VA and eliminate resources, such as Togus VA hospital; 4) his work to provide those who care for veteran family members with financial relief; and 5) his work to preserve the Individual Unemployability Benefit, which President Trump has proposed eliminating for Social Security-eligible veterans, and which provides disability compensation at a 100 percent rate, even if the VA has not rated their service-connected disability at the total level.

Senator King concluded his remarks by telling the VFW that support for veterans in Congress transcends politics:

“There is a lot of partisanship in Washington – there’s no point in kidding ourselves about that. But when it comes to veterans, it’s a totally nonpartisan issue. This is one of the rare areas in Congress where party doesn’t seem to matter,” Senator King said. “I think you should take pride in that because of your work and advocacy, but also you should take comfort in that that the needs of veterans come before party.”

Later today, Senator King will tour Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with hospital leadership. In the evening, he will also deliver remarks at Bucksport High School’s graduation at Bucksport High School.

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