WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the January Edition of his Inside Maine Podcast. This month’s edition features U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Kristen Miale, President of the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, discussing the government shutdown that lasted 35 days before yesterday’s agreement to reopen the government through a three-week continuing resolution. In the first segment, Senators King and Kaine discuss their perspectives on negotiations and the shutdown’s impact on people in Maine and Virginia. Kristen Miale joins Senator King in the second segment to discuss how Good Shepherd Food Bank and others are responding to the increased need for services in Maine.

Since the shutdown began in late December, Senator King made reopening the federal government his top priority. He has repeatedly called to end the shutdown, as recently as Thursday when the Senator participated in a bipartisan appeal on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and in a video message emphasizing the negative impact the government shutdown is having on people across Maine – including U.S. Coast Guard personnel and families. In addition, Senator King has worked to reduce the impact of the shutdown on federal workers. He was a cosponsor of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, a bipartisan bill that Senator King cosponsored to ensure that affected federal workers will receive back pay when the government is reopened, and was a cosponsor of the Fair Compensation for Low-Wage Contractor Employees Act, a bill which would secure back pay for the federal contractor employees who continue to go without pay during the current government shutdown. 

The Inside Maine Podcast with Senator Angus King is a 30-minute program that aims to help keep Maine people informed about issues of the day, how they affect life in the state, and how they factor into Senator King’s work as one of two independents in the U.S. Senate. Senator King’s podcast builds on his existing radio show that airs on Newsradio WGAN in Portland, Maine between 10 and 11 a.m. on almost every last Saturday of the month. The Inside Maine Podcast with Senator Angus King is available for free in iTunes and on Senator King’s website.

Photo 1: U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) discuss the government shutdown on King’s Inside Maine Podcast.