{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/senator-collins-speaks-at-maine-vfw-state-convention", "Senator Collins Speaks at Maine VFW State Convention", "2026-06-05", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "ME", "Susan M. Collins", "C001035", "www.collins.senate.gov", "collins", "https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Click HERE, HERE, and HERE for individual photos.\n\nNEWRY, ME \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins delivered remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Department of Maine\u2019s 105th State Convention in Newry. More than 100 people attended this year\u2019s convention, including VFW and VFW Auxiliary members and leaders, as well as representatives from VA Maine, Maine Veterans\u2019 Homes, the Maine Bureau of Veterans\u2019 Services, Honor Flight Maine, and Maine Paws for Veterans.\n\n\u201cIt is always an honor to salute the heroes who have served our nation in uniform and who continue to serve their communities through the VFW,\u201d said Senator Collins. \u201cFrom educating young people about American values through the Voice of Democracy and Patriots\u2019 Pen competitions to advocating for improved health care, suicide prevention, treatment and research for traumatic brain injury and PTSD, and earned benefits, the VFW continues to make an extraordinary difference for veterans, their families, and our country.\u201d\n\nDuring her remarks, Senator Collins also congratulated Olivia Drewniak, a high school senior from Woolwich, who became the first Mainer ever to win the national Voice of Democracy speech competition, and Piper Martin, a middle school student from Fort Fairfield, who was Maine\u2019s winning Patriots\u2019 Pen essayist. The VFW\u2019s Voice of Democracy and Patriots\u2019 Pen programs encourage high school and middle school students to reflect on American values, civic responsibility, and the service of America\u2019s veterans.\n\nSenator Collins, who is a member of the VFW Auxiliary in her hometown of Caribou, has long championed programs that support Maine veterans and their families. She strongly supported the new Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program facility at Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, has worked to better care for veterans affected by toxic exposures through the PACT Act, and has secured more than $10 million in Congressionally Directed Spending in the past five years for critical upgrades to Maine Veterans\u2019 Homes facilities across the state.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-06T06:16:30Z", "2026-06-06T06:17:47Z"]], "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-speaks-at-maine-vfw-state-convention"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.5642439033836126, "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"}