WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- The Attorneys General of Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, D.C., and Harris County, Texas, have submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, expressing their staunch opposition to the agency's recent Interim Final Rules, which rescind vital regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection issued the following news release: * * * Border Patrol Agents Arrest Confirmed Gang Member in Maine * UNION, Maine -- U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Colombian national and confirmed member of the South American Theft Group (SATG) in Union, Maine, on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. The individual was found to be illegally present in the United States. Upon further investigation, records revealed the  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service issued the following article: * * * U.S. Obesity Rate Changes Differ for Rural and Urban Areas, as Well as Across Regions By Mariah Ehmke and Brandon J. Restrepo Highlights * Despite a slight decline in the U.S. overall obesity rate from March 2022-2023 to March 2023-2024, rural obesity rates rose 0.5 percentage points during the same time. * The U.S. obesity rates in rural areas were higher than urban rat  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -- The Maine Public Utilities Commission, Augusta, has suspended a request by Central Maine Power Co., Augusta, to update a portion of its tariff. The commission's decision, outlined in a "Suspension Order" (Docket No. 2025-00210), was issued on July 31, 2025. The utility had filed a request on July 2 for approval of its proposed updates to Terms and Conditions Section 60. The commission found that it did not have enough time before the changes were scheduled to take effect o  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, issued the following news release: * * * Nearly $4 Million for Maine Maritime Academy Advanced by Senator Collins in Funding Bill * Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced $3,970,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. The bill,   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release: * * * Pappas Introduces Legislation to Exempt Small Businesses from Trump Tariffs on Canada * Introduction follows Trump administration announcement increasing Canadian tariffs from 25% to 35% Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), a small business owner, introduced the Creating Access to Necessary American-Canadian Duty Adjustments (CANADA) Act, legislation that would exempt United States-owned s  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Senate Passes Appropriations Bills with Significant Wins for Maine For the first time since 2018, Senate passes appropriations legislation before August recess * U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, advanced significant funding and legislative language for Maine in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations legislation that  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Senate Passes FY 2026 Agriculture Appropriations Bill Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by a vote of 87-9. The bill, which provides $27.1 billion in discretionary funding, invests in America's rural communities, supports  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Senate Passes FY 2026 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act by a vote of 81-15. The legislation provides support for physical and cyber security, technology infrastructure, and overall legislative work capacity of Congress. The bill provides $7.1 billion   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Senate Passes FY 2026 MilCon-VA Appropriations Bill Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act by a vote of 87-9. The legislation provides support for critical housing, infrastructure, and facilities for U.S. military forces and their families,   more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Delaware, issued the following news release: * * * Senators Coons, Cassidy lead bipartisan group of senators calling on OMB to release delayed AmeriCorps funds * WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate National Service Caucus, led members in calling on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release the full fiscal year 2025 appropriations for AmeriCorps after illegal  more