BANGOR — In remarks delivered recently at Husson University to local business leaders, students, faculty, and staff, U.S. Sen. Angus King discussed U.S. economic growth and job gains in Maine, highlighting strategies to strengthen Maine’s economy — including reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses, expanding rural access to high-speed broadband, and increasing access to higher education and making it easier to repay student loans.

Sponsored by Husson University, the breakfast and lecture event gave members of the local community the opportunity to hear from leaders serving in government, the private sector and non-profit organizations to help gain insight into a variety of economic, scientific, cultural and business issues.

Sen. King has introduced, along with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., the Community Broadband Act to preserve the rights of cities and localities across the country to follow Maine’s lead in building municipal broadband networks.

In addition, Sen. King has been a fierce defender of net neutrality and efforts to protect the economic power of the open Internet, urging the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules, which the FCC Chairman has since outlined, ensuring that the Internet remains free and open to all, not just the highest bidder.

He also continues to support local and state efforts to partner with federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, to continue federal investment in broadband deployment and infrastructure, improvement of broadband connectivity to schools and libraries via modernization of the E-rate program, funding of technical assistance and support for robust funding for associated grant programs.

One of the greatest obstacles to economic growth for business owners and entrepreneurs in Maine continues to be overly-burdensome regulations. To address the issue, Sen. King, along with Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., introduced the Regulatory Improvement Act, which would create a Regulatory Improvement Commission to review outdated regulations with the goal of modifying, consolidating, or repealing regulations in order to reduce compliance costs, encourage growth and innovation, and improve competitiveness.

According to the Project on Student Debt, Maine students face the seventh highest average debt burden in the country – with the average student borrowing more than $29,000 to finance their education. In 2013, Sen. King played an integral role in crafting the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, a bill that lowered interest rates for millions of student borrowers across the country. More recently, he introduced two bills specifically aimed at making it easier for students to access the support they need to pursue higher education and to simplify the process to pay those loans back – often allowing students to save money.

The FAST Act, introduced with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., would simplify the process of applying for and receiving federal financial aid to attend college, allow year-round use of Pell Grants, discourage over-borrowing and simplify repayments.

The Repay Act, introduced with Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., would simplify the complex maze of federal student loan repayment programs by consolidating the benefits of current repayment programs into two plans: a fixed repayment plan, based on a 10-year period, and a single, simplified income-driven repayment option.