More Than $2 Million for Southern Maine Community College Secured by Senator Collins

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $2,237,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for Southern Maine Community College's (SMCC) Education and Training Accelerator Lab in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill. The bill, which passed the Senate last week and was approved by the House of Representatives this afternoon, has been signed into law.

"Investing in workforce development is essential to helping Mainers build strong careers and local businesses thrive," said Senator Collins. "This project will strengthen Southern Maine's workforce pipeline by expanding access to high-quality training programs in state-of-the-art facilities. As the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this important funding."

"This funding is truly transformative for Southern Maine Community College and the students and communities we serve. The Education and Training Accelerator Lab will allow us to expand hands-on, workforce-aligned training in modern, flexible spaces that meet the evolving needs of Maine's economy," said Kristen Miller, President, Southern Maine Community College. "We are deeply grateful to Senator Collins for her leadership and continued commitment to community colleges and workforce development, and for recognizing the critical role SMCC plays in preparing students for high-demand careers while supporting local employers and small businesses."

"The demand for skilled workers in critical industry sectors in Maine remains very high, and this funding for training equipment and facilities at Maine's community colleges will help us meet that demand. We thank Senator Collins for continuing to focus on providing the resources needed to meaningfully expand our ability to provide students with an excellent education, preparing them for high-demand jobs and helping address Maine's workforce and economic growth needs," said David Daigler, President of the Maine Community College System.

SMCC's Education and Training Accelerator Lab aims to modernize and expand existing campus infrastructure in South Portland to support a broader range of workforce training and small business development programs. It will produce graduates with much-needed skills that are in short supply.

This funding advanced through the Committee's markup of the FY 2026 FSGG Appropriations bill-an important step that now allows the bill to be considered by the full Senate.

In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins has secured nearly $1.5 billion for hundreds of Maine projects for FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024, and FY 2026. As the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.

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