Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced $10,663,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for Maine Community Colleges in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. The bill, which was officially approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House.
“Maine’s Community Colleges provide important educational opportunities in technical fields, career training, and transfer programs to students seeking to further their education,” said Senator Collins. “This funding would support facility and equipment upgrades, helping to expand nursing, health education, forest industry, and trade programs across the state. As the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”
“This higher education funding advanced by Senator Collins would be transformational for our students and Maine, providing critically needed health care equipment and facilities that would not only help increase the number of skilled health care workers in Maine, but support our goal of doubling the number of nursing graduates from Maine’s community colleges,” said David Daigler, President of the Maine Community College System.
This funding advanced through the Committee’s markup of the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill—an important step that now allows the bill to be considered by the full Senate.
Funding advanced by Senator Collins is as follows:
CMCC Nursing Education Equipment Enhancement
Recipient: Central Maine Community College (CMCC)
Project Location: Auburn, ME
Amount Requested: $1,000,000
Project Purpose: To purchase nursing education equipment.
EMCC Nursing and Allied Health Education Simulation Expansion
Recipient: Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC)
Project Location: Bangor, ME
Amount Requested: $6,510,000
Project Purpose: To construct and equip a nursing and allied health care simulation laboratory and learning center on campus.
KVCC Electrical Program Training Facility
Recipient: Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC)
Project Location: Fairfield, ME
Amount Requested: $180,000
Project Purpose: To purchase equipment for KVCC's electrician training program.
KVCC Mechanized Logging and Forest Trucking Program
Recipient: Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC)
Project Location: Fairfield, ME
Amount Requested: $1,019,000
Project Purpose: To purchase equipment for a logging workforce training program.
NMCC Nursing and Allied Health Education Simulation Expansion
Recipient: Northern Maine Community College (NMCC)
Project Location: Presque Isle, ME
Amount Requested: $650,000
Project Purpose: To purchase labor and delivery simulation equipment.
NMCC Industrial E&I Technician Training Program
Recipient: Northern Maine Community College (NMCC)
Project Location: Presque Isle, ME
Amount Requested: $1,304,000
Project Purpose: To purchase equipment and develop a program to train industrial electrical and instrumentation technicians.
In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins has secured more than $1 billion for hundreds of Maine projects for FY 2022, FY 2023, and FY 2024. As the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.
###