Press Releases

Congresswoman Pingree's guest, Banah Al-Hanfy, in the gallery during President Trump's speech (top row in white)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree released the following response to President Trump’s address tonight to a Joint Session of Congress.

“I was encouraged to hear President Trump touch on several things tonight where we can find agreement, including rebuilding our country's infrastructure, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, strengthening trade, and finding compromise on comprehensive immigration reform. We desperately need to update our immigration policies to respond to our country’s evolving needs. In particular, I hope we can keep families together and create a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who’ve only known this country as their home. 

“I’ll be watching closely to see if the President follows through on the promises he made. His record so far makes me skeptical. President Trump has talked a lot about giving the country a brighter future, but his actions since taking office have shown that his true priorities aren’t in the best interests of the American people. 

“His first executive orders benefited his friends on Wall Street and corporate polluters rather than American workers. His botched travel ban stranded lawful residents of the United States overseas and separated families, as my guest tonight, Banah Al-Hanfy, knows all too well.  He and Republican leaders in Congress have started repealing the Affordable Care Act without a plan for helping the millions of people who stand to lose their health care. And he has chosen to attack the press and judges rather than tackle the very real problems of mounting student loan debt, the opioid crisis, climate change, and many others.”