WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), emphasized the need for a policy of cyberdeterrance and strengthening international alliances to provide a multilateral response as an effective strategy to prevent foreign adversaries from attacking the United States’ critical infrastructure and cybernetworks. Today’s hearing was held to consider the nomination of Dr. Colin Kahl,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) urged the Biden Administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses and align those standards across the government. In a bipartisan letter to the Biden Administration’s top officials for federal broadband policy – including Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned Major General William Walker, Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard, seeking reforms to flawed processes exposed by the January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol. During his remarks, Senator King sought to understand the specific failures that led to the U.S. Capitol police being left without the backup of the D.C. National Guard for 3 hours and 19 minutes, fighting against violent insurrectionists... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced his official committee and subcommittee assignments for the 117th Congress, when Senator King will assume the role of Chairman for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Senator King will also become Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which oversees programs related to America’s nuclear and strategic forces. In addition, Senator King will maintain his... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to Rochelle Walensky, M.D., Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), requesting information as to how the CDC monitors genetic variants of COVID-19. In the letter, the Senators cite the unknown spread of COVID-19 variants throughout the United States, as well as the risk that these variants could be more transmissible or more deadly than the virus’s original strain. Citing these... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Maine’s U.S. Senators Angus King and Susan Collins and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden reintroduced the bipartisan York River Wild and Scenic River Act, bicameral legislation to initiate the final step in the process to add the York River into the National Park System’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Program. If the bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President, the York River will finally receive long-awaited federal protection and... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced that he is an original cosponsor of the Equality Act – historic, comprehensive legislation to ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. The legislation would amend existing federal anti-discrimination laws to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected against discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, federal funding, and more. It would also add... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) renewed his support for the Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which Senator King first cosponsored when it initially was introduced last summer, establishes a $120 billion revitalization fund to support independent restaurants and small franchisees who are facing immense, long-term challenges as a result of the coronavirus... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the February edition of his Inside Maine podcast, focusing on the critical importance of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) during the coronavirus pandemic. This episode features Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), who joined Senator King to discuss his leadership in congressional efforts to hold Postmaster General Louis DeJoy accountable and strengthen... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) renewed his support for the DISCLOSE Act, legislation that aims to combat the corrosive impact of anonymous special interest spending in American politics. The bill would require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, allowing the American people to see who is attempting to influence their vote and gain control over their government.“Elections are the foundation of America’s governmental system, when... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have reintroduced the Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at empowering emergency room personnel at health facilities to proactively identify, assess, and treat individuals at risk of suicide. The bill would create a voluntary grant program to assist emergency departments and medical professionals to develop protocols to support those most... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned U.S. Army General Gustave Perna, Chief Operating Officer of Operation Warp Speed, on the status of the current plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to Americans and opportunities to strengthen and streamline the process. During his questioning, Senator King sought information on the bottlenecks to the existing systems, and offered the Committee’s assistance to speed up the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the Commission to administer the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBBP) in a way that helps address the longstanding digital divides that block too many Americans from securing a reliable, affordable broadband connection. In their letter, the Senators encourage the FCC to design the program in a way that helps to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, voted to confirm former Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) as Secretary of the Department of Energy. Senator King’s vote comes after he questioned former Governor Granholm during a hearing of the ENR Committee, emphasizing the importance of furthering America’s innovative research into energy storage technology to maximize the capacity of renewable technologies; he... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — In their first joint letter to President Biden, Maine’s congressional delegation raised the alarm on misguided regulations that present an unprecedented threat to the state’s lobstermen and lobstering communities, and urged the president to act on his promise to protect lobstermen’s livelihoods. The letter from Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) comes ahead of a May 31st deadline to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today in a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) pressed Ambassador William Burns – nominee to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – on the need for the Intelligence Community (IC) to provide unvarnished facts to policy-makers, regardless of the implications for the Administration’s preferred policy. Ambassador Burns affirmed his commitment that under his leadership, the CIA would provide unbiased... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), questioned SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna and top cybersecurity industry experts about the risks posed by the recent cyber intrusions into key American systems – within both the public and private sectors – and the importance of strengthening America’s cyberdefenses to support national security. During today’s hearing in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned former and current top law enforcement officials on the multiple failures that occurred during the January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol – putting lawmakers, their families, Capitol Police Officers, and Congressional and Capitol Complex staff at risk. His questioning came during a joint hearing held by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration – on which Senator King serves as a member – and the Senate Homeland... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned Congresswoman Debra Haaland (D-N.M.), nominee to serve as Secretary of the Interior, on a number of environmental priorities that are essential to advancing the nation’s clean energy potential, reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and preserving national parks. During his questioning in a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator King highlighted the world-class offshore wind research being... Continue Reading »
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that eleven organizations in Maine have been awarded a total of $280,000 to enhance performing arts and literature programs. This funding was awarded through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).“Arts and humanities programs help communities exercise their creativity and maximize their learning potential,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “This federal funding will help to support... Continue Reading »
