In January 2013, Angus King was sworn in as Maine’s first Independent United States Senator, filling the same seat once held by storied Maine leaders Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell, and Olympia Snowe.
A strong believer in the need for greater bipartisan dialogue and relationship building, Senator King is proud to join the long line of thoughtful, independent leaders from the State of Maine, and he works hard every day to bring Republicans and Democrats together to find common-sense solutions for Maine and America. He is a proven consensus-builder who “calls ‘em like he sees ‘em”, putting civility and respect ahead of political ideology.
The twenty-first century has brought about profound changes to the ways in which we do business both at home and abroad. As information, goods, and people flow seamlessly across borders at previously unimaginable speeds, we must rethink how to best equip our students for success in this new, global job market. To that end, I have been a champion of congressional efforts to finally reauthorize and reform the badly-outdated No Child Left Behind law to ensure that Washington can be a partner, not a barrier, to innovation in the classroom. I have also worked to address the soaring cost of higher education, providing student loan borrowers with substantive debt relief and reasonable options to finance their education.