WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) released the following statement after voting against Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as the Director of National Intelligence. Congresswoman Gabbard was confirmed in a vote of 52-48. “The Director of National Intelligence position boils down to judgment and management — and I find Congresswoman Gabbard lacking in both of these essential traits. “First to the quality of judgment and discernment. While the Congresswoman has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are introducing bipartisan legislation to protect a higher-quality veterans’ experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Improving Veteran Experience Act would lock into law the Veterans Experience Office (VEO), making it an official fixture to help meet the increased demand for services. Founded in 2015, the VEO collects veterans’ feedback through surveys and uses that data to continuously improve the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to help protect youth from the harmful impacts of social media. The Kids Off Social Media Act would enforce minimum age limits to use social media platforms and prevent social media companies from feeding algorithmically-targeted content to users under the age of 17. Studies have shown a strong relationship between social media use and poor mental health, especially among children. From 2019 to 2021, overall... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), is joining his colleagues in demanding the Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary protect veterans’ personal information. In a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, the Senators urge him to take immediate actions to secure veterans’ personal information provided by VA or other agencies to Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). The call to protect this data follows... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is introducing legislation to prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs. The Responsibility in Drug Advertising Act would prohibit direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of a new drug in the first three years after the drug receives Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The FDA could waive the third year of this prohibition if an affirmative value to public health is established or extend the prohibition if the drug has... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee Ranking Member Senator Angus King (I-ME), and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) urged newly confirmed U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to immediately take action to resolve looming staffing... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) shared his growing concerns over the Trump Administration’s largely unconstitutional and unprecedented overreach. In a speech on the Senate floor, King cited the Founding Fathers to add historical perspective to the decisions facing the Senate including the importance of keeping a separation of powers between the branches of government. “The framers were so fearful of concentrated power that they designed a system that would be hard to... Continue Reading »
To watch the floor speech click here WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today spoke on the Senate floor to share his growing concerns over the Trump Administration’s largely unconstitutional and unprecedented overreach -- adding historical perspective to the decisions facing the Senate. In the speech, King also shared his position on Russell Vought, the nominee to become Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): “We began our careers here with the following words,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King joined 26 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) calling for the immediate implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act. This bipartisan legislation, which Senator Collins coauthored with former Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and which was co-sponsored by King, will provide full Social Security benefits for millions of public servants impacted by the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), joined his committee colleagues to sound the alarm on the new national security risks that present themselves with the current operations of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Senators write about the risks to national security by allowing unvetted DOGE staff and representatives to access classified and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees, is introducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to improve financial security for servicemembers, veterans, and their families. The Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act would ensure life insurance packages for servicemembers and veterans adjust for increases in cost of living and inflation. From 2006 to 2023, the maximum insurance value available for service members... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) and 36 of his colleagues have contacted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressing their deep concern regarding the growing chaos at the U.S. Department of State and the Trump Administration’s attempt to abolish the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In a letter to Secretary Rubio, the Senators highlighted that USAID is a critical pillar of U.S. national security strategy, providing lifesaving aid and development support around... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), the Ranking Member of the Senate National Parks subcommittee, and John Barrasso (R-WY), introduced legislation to update 911 emergency call centers inside the National Park System (NPS). The Making National Parks Safer Act directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to upgrade NPS 911 call centers with Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology. This technology will enable call centers to receive text messages, images, and video submissions in... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is introducing bipartisan legislation with eight of his colleagues to fast-track and modernize prescription drug testing protocols which will in turn improve patient outcomes. The FDA Modernization Act 3.0 (FDAMA) is a bipartisan effort to reduce ineffective animal testing and expedite scientific innovation. In 2022, President Biden signed FDAMA 2.0 into law removing the longstanding requirement that investigational new drugs (INDs) undergo... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to allow veterans who received their Purple Heart after their service to transfer their GI Bill education benefits to their dependents. This bill would level the playing field for these veterans, since servicemembers who receive the Purple Heart while in active status are allowed to pass their well-earned benefits to their loved ones. The Purple Heart Veterans Education Act would close this loophole,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is joining bipartisan legislation to lower child care costs and address the nationwide shortage of affordable child care. The Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act would provide competitive grants for states to train child care workers and build or renovate child care facilities. Families across the country are struggling to access available child care, with rural communities increasingly becoming “child care deserts” due to the noticeable... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an open cabinet confirmation hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) considering the nomination of former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) questioned the candidate’s decision-making in the past. In the conversation with Gabbard, King questioned her about a House resolution she introduced in 2020 calling for all charges to be dropped against Edward Snowden, a former National Security... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), is highlighting the catastrophic consequences that could result from the immediate federal hiring freeze enacted by the new administration. In a letter to President Donald Trump, King specifically expresses his concerns about the impact this hiring freeze will have on access to healthcare and critical services for veterans in Maine. King wrote, “Our veterans deserve access to the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King today argued that a lack of health care data and the current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hiring freeze are denying veterans the benefits they rightly deserve. In a hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), King questioned Naomi Mathis, the Assistant National Legislative Director for Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and John Eaton, the Vice President for the Complex Care Wounded Warrior Project, about the lack of health care data... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is cosponsoring legislation to promote transparency, boost competition, and bring down the cost of prescription drugs. The bipartisan Drug-Price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs in order to inform patients who are considering certain medications after seeing television commercials. By requiring direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for prescription drugs to include a... Continue Reading »
