{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-attends-dedication-ceremony-acadia-national-cemetery-jonesboro", "Senator Collins Attends Dedication Ceremony for Acadia National Cemetery in Jonesboro", "2020-08-29", "2020", "2020-08", "Republican", "House", "ME", "Susan Collins", "C001035", "www.collins.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "ClickHERE,HERE, andHEREfor high-resolution photos\n\nJonesboro, ME Today,U.S. Senator Susan Collins delivered remarks at the Dedication Ceremony for theAcadiaNational Cemetery in Jonesboro. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary RobertWilkiewas also in attendance and provided remarks.\n\nI am honored to join you to dedicate this final resting place for our heroes,said Senator Collins. We who enjoy the blessing of freedom are profoundly grateful to those who have given so much to defend it.Forsubsequent generations, all who come to this hallowed ground will look down the rows of headstones, columbaria, flowers, and flags, and see our history.It is a history written by ordinary men and women who answered the call to defend liberty. It is a history cherished by a people seeking peace.\n\n\"This new cemetery nestled here in the balsam fir forests of Down East' Maine is an everlasting shrine to our Veterans,\"said VA SecretaryWilkie.\"It reminds us every day of the sacrifices that generations of men and women from this hardy, practical and intensely patriotic corner of the nation have made for all of us.\"\n\nMaine is home to more than 114,000 veterans, the second-highest percentage in the nation. Nearly 26,000 of those patriots live within 75 miles of the new 6.2-acre VA national cemetery. TheAcadiaNational Cemetery is the second VA national cemetery in Maine, and the first to have space for new interments in nearly six decades. At full capacity, the cemetery will be able to accommodate approximately 7,000 interments. Worcester Holdings LLC, associated with Wreaths Across America, donated the land in 2017.\n\nSenator Collins, along witha group ofher colleagues, recentlyintroducedtheVeteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020to improve benefits forveteransin the areas of education, pensions, burials, and survivor benefits, among others. The legislation includes elementsof the bipartisanVeteran Pension Protection Act, legislation Senator Collinco-authoredthat would require the Department ofVeteransAffairs to systematically track victims, scammers, and trends to proactively protectveteransand survivors across the country from predatory pension poachers.\n\nAdditionally, Senator Collins is arecipient of the Distinguished Citizen Awardfrom the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for her work to support veterans.\n\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://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-attends-dedication-ceremony-acadia-national-cemetery-jonesboro"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3787001371383667, "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"}