AUGUSTA, Maine — On Tuesday, the Maine House and Senate passed a bill to keep the Caribou and Machias Maine Veterans Homes open, despite Maine Veterans Homes' attempt to close them.
The bill still needs to go back to the Senate for a final vote on Thursday.
If it passes, then the bill goes to Gov. Janet Mills' desk, then to the Appropriations Committee to decide how to fund the $3.5 million bill.
This bill would also look at ensuring all six of Maine's veterans' homes remain open.
Senate President Troy Jackson, the bill's sponsor, said this had been a frustrating process for rural Mainers, but an important one.
"My entire district is very adamant that they don't want to see a home in rural Maine close. And in Washington County, which is a long way away from me, I've been there enough to understand that while we're different, we feel a lot of the same. So for both of those areas, I mean, it makes me upset that it's another thing, another problem that we have to deal with," Jackson said.