BANGOR, ME – Today, on the 77th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) attended the Holiday Open House at the Bangor Vet Center, where he met with local veterans to honor their service and celebrate the holiday season.

“Today was about celebrating the holiday season with the Maine veterans who’ve made so many contributions to our national defense and our communities – and it was made even more special because today is the 77th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor,” said Senator King. “The men and women who served at Pearl Harbor will forever be examples of the strength resilience of our servicemembers. We will never forget them, and today we honor not only their memory, but the service of all the men and women who’ve answered the call to duty. To all American veterans: I thank you for your service, and I join all of Maine in wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season.”

Senator King has been an advocate for veterans issues during his time in Washington. Last month, Senator King introduced the Department of Energy Veterans’ Health Initiative Act, a bipartisan bill that would help improve veterans’ health care. The bill seeks to increase collaboration among federal agencies and authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop new technologies that improve our understanding of the health challenges facing veterans. Earlier in November, Senator King honored Maine’s veterans in a speech at Messalonskee Middle School’s annual Veterans Tribute Assembly. In preparation for the assembly, students completed projects focused on learning about military service and the sacrifices of America’s veterans. In October, he attended the 6th Annual Women Veterans’ Luncheon in Rumford where he recognized and commended the attendees, who represented all branches of military service. In October, he joined Maine veterans at the 21st Annual Homeless Veterans Stand Down at Togus VA Medical Center to highlight services and resources for veterans who are homeless or in transitional housing. In September, he joined a panel featuring veterans’ healthcare experts and caregivers at the Portland Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), to discuss common suicide risk factors and warning signs for suicide and provide information about VA mental health and suicide prevention resources. Also in September, he applauded the House and Senate’s passage of the MilCon-VA Conference Report, which aims to consolidate and improve VA community care programs and reform the VA’s existing facilities to best serve veterans. In June, his bill to strengthen accountability of senior executives at the VA was signed into law.  

In April, Senator King visited 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.  Senator King also highlighted the important place of veterans in Maine by dedicating his November 2017 and December 2017 podcasts to the subject, with Travis Mills as one of the guests on the latter show. In December 2017, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it 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 followed a February 2017 letter from Senator King to the VA urging additional resources on the topic.