ROME, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) attended the Spring 2018 Open House at the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat in Rome, which brings injured veterans and their families to Maine in order to help the veterans overcome physical obstacles with the support of family members.

“Travis Mills’ personal motto is ‘never give up, never quit,’ and that spirit is on full display at the retreat,” said Senator King. “Veterans and their families deserve our continued gratitude and support, and the Travis Mills Foundation is stepping up to fill a vital role for these American heroes. What a truly special place, and an important piece of our state’s vibrant veterans community – we’re honored that this facility calls Maine its home base.  

The retreat was established by retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills, who served in the 82^nd Airborne Division and is a motivational speaker and advocate for veterans and amputees. While serving in Afghanistan in 2012, Travis lost portions of both his arms and legs in Afghanistan from an IED. He is only one of five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive the injuries. Since then, he’s created the Travis Mills Foundation, a Maine-based non-profit aimed at supporting injured veterans and their families. The retreat, which operates on an 11,000 square foot facility, brings veterans and their families to Maine throughout the year, with the goal of showing them they can overcome the physical and emotional challenges they face. Travis previously highlighted the Foundation and the retreat on the December edition of Senator King’s monthly podcast, Inside Maine.

Since arriving in Washington, Senator King has been a strong advocate for veterans issues. In December, Senator King announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs will fund three new positions in Maine to better serve justice-involved Maine veterans confronting homelessness, mental health or substance abuse issues – a move which comes after his February letter to the Department urging additional resources on the topic. Through his work on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator King has supported multiple amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that support American veterans. In the Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA, Senator King cosponsored a bipartisan amendment authored by Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) that would encourage cooperation and integration between the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense with their electronic health care record systems to improve the transition from active duty to veteran status and ensure that veterans won’t have to wait to gain access to the health care services they have earned. He also supported an amendment authored by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that would encourage the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Defense to assess the feasibility of establishing a joint office to house an interagency task force on suicide prevention. Senator King supports the coordination between the departments so that those who have served do not slip through the cracks. He is a strong supporter of the Veterans Choice Program, which helps veterans across Maine and the nation receive health care within their communities and allows veterans in Northern Maine to seamlessly utilize community care as they formerly did under the Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot. In August, the President signed into law the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, legislation he cosponsored that would overhaul the Department of Veteran Affairs’ (VA) appeals process.