WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an ongoing effort to keep folks at home up to date with his work in Washington, U.S. Senator Angus King took a few minutes to discuss the events of this past week in the nation’s capital. In his weekly recap, Senator King shared his impressions from the first public meeting of the Budget Conference Committee. He hopes that the opening statements provided by committee members during this initial gathering laid the foundation for a deal to partially replace the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today passed several amendments authored by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) that will increase oversight and accountability within our nation’s Intelligence community. Senators Collins and King are the only two Senators on the Intelligence Committee whose amendments were adopted during the Committee’s markup of legislation reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The first... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today passed by a vote of 11-4 the FISA Improvements Act, which includes a bipartisan provision authored by U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and cosponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) that would require the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to designate outside “Amicus Curiae” or “Friends of the Court” to provide independent perspectives and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King yesterday held a video conference with students from Hall-Dale Middle & High School as part of his ongoing “Capitol Class with Angus” series. Over the course of his term in Congress, Senator King hopes to connect with as many Maine high schools as possible in order to share his experiences representing Maine in the U.S. Senate and answer their questions about today’s most pressing issues. “I was delighted to have the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that Maine's first responders can apply for Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program funds from Monday, November 4, 2013 at 8:00 AM until Friday, December 6, 2013 at 5:00 PM. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the grants. These grants help fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations meet their firefighting and emergency response needs. The AFG... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The joint Senate and House Budget Conference Committee, of which U.S Senator Angus King (I-ME) is a member, held its first public meeting today to offer opening statements and chart a path towards a bipartisan budget agreement. Following the meeting, Senator King released the following statement: “This morning’s meeting laid the foundation for a deal that could partially replace the sequester and avoid another painful and unnecessary government shutdown in... Continue Reading »
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and the administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.’ Those are the words of Abraham Lincoln in a message to Congress on December 1st, 1862, almost exactly 150 years ago. “I want to emphasize, and think the comments this morning have been wonderful, and put them together and you've got the essence of a solution, but I want to emphasize that this is a historic opportunity and responsibility. The other... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Senate and House prepare to reconcile the differences between their two versions of the Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Angus King yesterday sent a letter to Senators Debbie Stabenow and Thad Cochran, Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, respectively, outlining several farming and food issues of particular importance to Maine, including funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), protections... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that small businesses throughout Maine have improved access to capital and technical assistance through SBA lending programs. According to the Small Business Administration, Fiscal Year 2013 saw more than $110 million dollars injected into small businesses through 422 loans approved using the Administration’s loan guarantee and microloan programs, which represents... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King recently penned a foreword to “Blessed Boyhood!” The ‘Early Memoir’ of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a book published by Bowdoin College and annotated by historians Thomas A. Desjardin and David K. Thomson to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. As a long-time admirer of Chamberlain, Senator King regards the General as “the greatest citizen that Maine has ever produced.” In his foreword,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the Midcoast Regional Innovation Initiative, led by Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority and Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc., is one of 11 nationwide winners of the Make it in America Challenge and will receive two federal grants totaling $2,050,000. The grant funding is allocated as follows: $750,000 to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority from the Economic Development Administration to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Maine Congressional delegation announced today that it is supporting the New England Consortium’s application to build a National Manufacturing Innovation Institute within New England. The application, led by Draper Laboratory of Massachusetts and a steering committee of academia, industry and workforce development organizations in New England, was submitted to the Department of Defense this afternoon as part of a... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today congratulated Kyle Murdock, founder of Sea Hag Seafood, Inc., on receiving the 2013 Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs award from the Hitachi Foundation on behalf of his leadership in business and community development. Kyle, a native of Monhegan Island, recognized the need for more lobster processing plants in Maine, and, at the age of 20, he opened his own facility in St. George to help strengthen Maine’s seafood... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King today congratulated the Penobscot Job Corps Academy (PJCA) for its recent certification as a Center of Environmental Excellence. PJCA was recognized for its leadership in implementing Job Corps’ Guiding Principles for High Performance Green Buildings initiative, and is one of only two centers in the country to receive this distinction. Based in Bangor, PJCA offers young adults vital education and career skills training at no cost to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the reopening of the government, the office of U.S. Senator Angus King has announced that it will resume next week constituent outreach hours for the month of October. Constituent outreach hours, which are part of Senator King’s “Your Government, Your Neighborhood” initiative, offer an opportunity for area residents to meet directly with a staff representative to discuss specific problems, legislative issues, or any concerns regarding federal... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is one of a select few lawmakers who has been appointed to a joint House and Senate budget conference committee charged with developing a long-term budget plan by December 13th. “I am pleased to be a member of the conference committee, and I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to develop a long-term budget that puts our nation back on a path to fiscal certainty and stability,” Senator King said.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), the Senate tonight passed a bipartisan measure that will reopen the government, avert a default on the national credit, and restart negotiations to achieve a long-term budget. The House of Representatives is expected to also pass the measure and send it to the President for his signature before the midnight deadline. Following the 81-18 vote, Senator King released the following statement: “As a result of the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of United States Senators is urging Congressional approval of a bipartisan Reid-McConnell agreement to reopen the federal government and avoid a default on the national debt. The group of fourteen senators—seven Republicans, six Democrats, and one Independent— have been negotiating a compromise plan to reopen government, avert the default, and restart budget negotiations on a long-term fiscal plan to deal with our nation’s... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the floor of the Senate, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today praised an announcement by Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell that a bipartisan solution has been brokered between the two leaders that will end the government shutdown, avert a default on the nation’s credit, and restart negotiations on a long-term budget. Senator King was part of a bipartisan group of fourteen senators – seven Republicans and six Democrats... Continue Reading »
“Winston Churchill once famously observed that Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else. I think the last two weeks demonstrates the wisdom of that observation. I want to join my colleagues in congratulating first the leaders for putting aside their substantial differences, their substantial partisan divide, to meet together over the last two or three days and hammer out an agreement that is not going to be acceptable or exciting to anyone but... Continue Reading »
