WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) voted for an omnibus appropriations bill that will fund the government through September 2016, extend tax policies that support American families and businesses, and contains a host of other provisions important to Maine. Though Senator King had concerns about how the costs of the tax deal will add to the national debt, he was not willing to vote to shut down the government or sacrifice the numerous provisions that will benefit the people of Maine. 

“By passing this bill, we’ve avoided another government shutdown, managed to extend or enhance several tax provisions important to Maine families and businesses, and given our economy some semblance of calm and predictability for the coming fiscal year. But unfortunately, the tax provisions in this bill are a short-term solution to a long-term problem,” said Senator King. “We cannot continue to mortgage our children’s future with these massive, last minute agreements – even though this negotiating process was more deliberate and inclusive than it has been in the past. I hope that in the coming years, we can find a way to pay for expiring tax provisions and return to a more thoughtful, regular appropriations process that allows us to responsibly invest in our future, grow the economy, and leave our kids and grandkids with an opportunity to succeed rather than a mountain of debt.”

An omnibus appropriations bill is legislation that combines various smaller government funding bills into one large package that can be passed all together at once, usually to avoid a pending fiscal deadline. The omnibus legislation passed today was negotiated by Congressional leaders and the Obama Administration in order to avoid a government shutdown by funding federal departments, agencies, and programs over the next fiscal year. As part of the agreement reached by negotiators, a broad tax deal was attached to the omnibus that provides a longer-term extension of more than fifty tax provisions that support working families and businesses. Senator King and several of his colleagues raised concerns about the cost of the tax deal, and voted to separate that deal from the omnibus spending bill on the Senate floor, but that vote ultimately failed.

Many provisions in this omnibus-tax extenders package have particular importance to Maine: 

Shipbuilding: The legislation authorizes over $4.6 billion for Navy destroyer programs, including $433 million for the construction of DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers – all of which are being built at Bath Iron Works – $3.1 billion for the for the procurement of two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in Fiscal Year 2016 – one of which will be built at Bath – and $1 billion towards the construction of an additional DDG-51 destroyer, which would likely be built at Bath. Senator Susan Collins played a major role in securing the additional $1 billion DDG-51 appropriation as senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator King has continually worked to authorize and prioritize shipbuilding funding like this as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Intelligence and Cyber-Security: The omnibus includes the FY2016 Intelligence Authorization and Cybersecurity Information Sharing bills, which Senator King helped to shape as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Intelligence Authorization bill includes several King-authored provisions, including an amendment to ensure that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) remains impartial in its intelligence analyses as the agency undergoes reorganization and a separate amendment requiring the Director of National Intelligence to notify Congress if phone companies change their metadata retention policies. Bolstering cyber-security has also been a top priority for Senator King, particularly after a string of cyber-breaches that have affected people in Maine – including those at Anthem and MaineGeneral – and after hearing from many Maine businesses who are concerned about the threat of cyber-attacks.

Veterans­: The bill includes $163 billion in total funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Fiscal Year 2016, and veterans in Maine and across the country will benefit from investments made in various medical support programs. A total of $4.7 billion will go towards healthcare for the more than 268,000 female veterans using the VA health system – with $446 million going towards gender specific healthcare. In addition, the VA’s programs for homeless veterans will be fully funded at $1.4 billion and VA mental health services will receive $7.5 billion for a variety of treatments including those for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, substance abuse treatment, and suicide prevention. Senator King asked appropriators for strong funding for each of these areas in a March letter.

Importantly, the VA’s Rural Health Initiative – which is used to fund the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) program that helps deliver health services to veterans in northern Maine – will receive $270 million. Senator King requested that the initiative be fully funded, and this level is $20 million above the President’s request for Fiscal Year 2015. The omnibus also includes $258 million in funding for readjustment counseling at Vet Centers like the five centers in Maine. In addition, $1.24 billion will go towards major VA construction projects, part of which could go towards several projects in Maine: construction of a new community living center at Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, construction of a specialty care addition at Togus, and the lease of a new Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Portland.   

9/11 first responders: The James Zadroga 9/11 Health Compensation Reauthorization Act, which permanently reauthorizes health benefits for 9/11 first responders, was passed as part of the omnibus today. Senator King is a cosponsor of the Zadgroga Act.

Opioid Abuse: The bill includes $47 million directed to addressing prescription drug and heroin overdose through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Of that funding, $25 million – an increase of $13 million – will go towards medication assisted treatment in high-risk states. The bill also includes $70 million for state-based efforts to address prescription opioid abuse through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is a $50 million increase over last year, and provides $7 million to fund anti-heroin task forces within the COPS program. Senator King has been working to address the opioid epidemic in Maine, holding several roundtables in the state and cosponsoring federal legislation – including the TREAT Act, which would expand access to medication-assisted treatment, as well as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to promote best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication.

Education: Several of Senator King’s education priorities were addressed in the bill, with Preschool Development Grants program receiving $250 million in funding and college savings accounts (529 plans) being adjusted to allow for the purchase of computers, internet access, and other related technology. Senator King wrote several letters in support of the Preschool Development Grant program, which recently awarded Maine with a multi-year, $14.8 million grant to expand pre-K services. He is also a cosponsor of legislation that would have made these same changes to college savings accounts in order to give students more flexibility as they try to afford their education. 

Tax Policies: Though Senator King has concerns about the cost of the tax extender package, he does support many of the individual tax policies themselves that support Maine families and businesses. The permanent extension of current or recently-expired enhancements to the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit will support some of Maine’s most vulnerable people, and Senator King has cosponsored separate bills that also would have made these tax credits permanent. The legislation also permanently extends several essential business tax policies, including the $500,000 threshold for Section 179 small business expensing and the Research and Development tax credit.

Senator King also supports the extension of many of the energy and environment tax credits, including a host of renewable energy credits for solar, wind, and residential energy efficiency that will provide financial incentives for individuals and businesses in the state to move towards more environmentally-friendly energy sources. Another important tax credit permanently extended in the bill provides a charitable deduction for contributions of land for conservation purposes, which Senator King has supported through separate legislation.

Land and Water Conservation Fund: Senator King has repeatedly called for a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).  Though this bill only reauthorizes the successful program for 3 years, it takes an important step towards ensuring its strength and sustainability moving forward, and also provides $450 million in funding for LWCF – which is the highest level since 2010. Senator King remains committed to protecting the LWCF, which has helped increase access to outdoor recreation for the last 50 years and supports local programs in Maine that get kids involved in the outdoors.

Medical Research: As a member of the Senate National Institutes of Health (NIH) Caucus, Senator King is a vocal advocate for medical research that can help combat disease and improve health in Maine, across the country, and around the world. The omnibus includes an overall funding increase for the NIH, and specific areas of research that affect Maine people – like Alzheimer’s research – will also see an increase. Senator King was a cosponsor of the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act which passed last year, requiring the NIH to submit an annual Alzheimer’s research budget to Congress. NIH released their first Alzheimer’s budget in July, calling for an addition $323.4 million in Fiscal Year 17. The omnibus includes a $350 million increase for Fiscal Year 16. Along with promoting increased funding for Alzheimer’s research, Senator King is also a cosponsor of the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act, which would provide patients and their families with more comprehensive information about how to deal with this terrible disease. Together with Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Senator King has also introduced the EUREKA Act to encourage more public-private collaboration in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other causes of dementia.

Visa Waiver Program: The bill includes a provision aimed at strengthening the Visa Waiver Program. Senator King has similarly called for changes to the program in response to concerns that it could be exploited by terrorists wanting to travel to America.

Transportation: Funding for the Department of Transportation’s TIGER program will be maintained at $500 million. This program continues to aid state and local governments in funding vital transportation projects.

Housing: The bill includes $950 million in funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program – $50 million more than fiscal year 2015 – in order to support the development of affordable housing units across the country, including Maine. After this critical source of federal funding for affordable home construction and rehabilitation was threatened in congressional budget proposals, Senator King wrote to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Related Agencies to urge appropriators to reject any efforts to reduce, divert, or eliminate funding from the program. The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), which has helped local government in Maine with housing, infrastructure, and revitalization projects, will receive $3 billion, the same that it did in the last fiscal year.

Fisheries: Maine’s fishing industry is a critical component of our economy, and by investing in several fishery management and conservation programs through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the omnibus will support efforts in Maine to rebuild and sustain our fisheries. In the bill, NOAA’s  Fisheries Data Collection, Surveys and Assessments program will receive $163 million – slightly exceeding a request from Senator King – to support fishery monitoring initiatives including the critical Maine-New Hampshire Inshore Trawl Survey and other projects that provide key inputs for the lobster and groundfish fisheries. Bill language directs NOAA Fisheries to improve a recent report related to the roll-out of electronic monitoring technology and requires FWS to report to the Senate and House Appropriations committees on the Service’s inspection of certain seafood products for export, including sea urchins. The omnibus also allocates more than $29 million to FWS fish and aquatic conservation efforts, which have aided a habitat restoration project on the Penobscot River.  

Menu labeling: Language in the omnibus cements a promise from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it will delay menu-labeling requirements for grocery stores and food retailers for one year. Senator King has written several letters to the agency in order to delay the rule and give Maine businesses time to understand the requirements and comply. He has also introduced legislation to codify a less burdensome approach to menu-labeling by allowing covered establishments greater flexibility in providing calorie information.

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