{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140620021325/http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=50dfe5c9-1b23-44b8-ace5-9194fade0e8a", "Collins, King Announce New Contract for Maine Military Authority in Limestone", "2014-06-19", "2014", "2014-06", "Republican", "House", "ME", "Susan Collins", "C001035", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that Maine Military Authority (MMA) has officially entered into a contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) to overhaul 32 aging, dual mode (electric/diesel) articulated (DMA) buses. This $19 million contract will help sustain and grow jobs at the Limestone facility.\nIn addition to supporting MMA's efforts with MBTA, Senators Collins and King wrote to the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in December in support of MMA\u2019s grant application to the \u201cResearch, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment\u201d program to establish a \u201cNationally Deployable Mission-Ready Transit Package.\u201d This grant program is intended to help transit agencies quickly recover and restore transit services following natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy.\n\u201cThe goals of FTA for our nation\u2019s transit system equipment dovetail perfectly with the work already being conducted at MMA. MMA has a proven track record of performing vehicle refurbishment work on behalf of the federal government, including the Department of the Army and the National Guard, on time and on budget. This contract is encouraging news for the skilled workforce at MMA. We are confident that the exceptional work performed for the MBTA will lead to further opportunities for the MMA workforce ,\u201d said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.\nAccording to MMA, this contract marks the culmination of years of strategic and deliberate planning to gain access to new markets as military budgets decline. In 2012, MMA completed a major renovation of its facilities specifically designed to support large, and over-sized vehicles. That same year, MMA entered the bus refurbishment market with its School Bus Refurbishment Program. Since, MMA has successfully developed an end-of-life rebuild program for Para-Transit (shuttle) buses and mid-life overhaul for mass-transit buses.\nMMA has teamed with the SKODA Electric, the original equipment manufacturer of the electric propulsion system used in the DMA buses, to form a team capable of this demanding project.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140620021325/http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=50dfe5c9-1b23-44b8-ace5-9194fade0e8a"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7321659941226244, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}