WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), as part of his continuing efforts to keep Mainers apprised of his work in the U.S. Senate, took a moment to recap the events of this past week in Washington. In his remarks, Senator King addressed:

• His recent trip to Jordan and Turkey with Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where they conferred with government officials, as well as U.S. diplomatic and military personnel, and visited refugee camps in both nations. Senator King said, “I start very cautious and reluctant about getting us involved in Syria. It is very complicated; it is a very difficult problem. So the first question I asked on the trip is, ‘Is there a U.S. national interest at stake here that would justify some level of involvement?’ I concluded that there is….The one thing everyone asked us for, both in Turkey and in Jordan, and from the Syrian opposition, was leadership.”

• His leadership in crafting a bipartisan, long-term solution that would keep student loan interest rates at a reasonable level for all students. “The bottom line is that I am interested in a long term solution that will benefit students rather than a postponement,” Senator King said. “We have a plan that will give students the lowest possible rate of anywhere in the society and would actually, in the next few years, for sure lower everybody’s rates substantially.”

• Last week’s tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec where a runaway train caught on fire and completely destroyed the downtown area. “About 40 firefighters from Maine headed the call, went north, and were absolutely heroic; literally heroic in helping those people to fight what was an incredibly dangerous and destructive fire,” Senator King said.

The full video of Senator King’s weekly recap can be viewed below. A broadcast-quality version of the video can also be downloaded by clicking here.

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