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Today, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joined President Joe Biden and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to announce that the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine has been granted National Monument status—furthering the Administration’s goal to more fully recognize the contributions women have made to our country. The designation follows months of advocacy by Pingree an... Read More »

Today, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced $1 million in federal funding to build greater food resilience in Maine’s food system while supporting local suppliers and purveyors. Awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI), the funding will support five supply chain infrastructure projects across Maine. “Ag... Read More »

Today, U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released findings from the federal government’s first-ever report on textile waste in the United States. The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report, requested by Pingree and DeLauro in 2023, examines the environmen... Read More »

More than $13 million is coming to Maine to support private forestland management and conservation, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today. The grants for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) and the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) are among awards totaling nearly $335 million for state agencies and nonprofit organizations across the country. Made pos... Read More »

In recognition of its successful record implementing energy efficiency programs, First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree honored Efficiency Maine in the Congressional Record —highlighting the agency’s ongoing efforts to help Mainers switch to more sustainable home-heating systems. Pingree’s Congressional Record Statement (CRS) comes after Efficiency Maine was recognized as a 2024 “Leader of t... Read More »

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it is permanently increasing the automatic extension to expiring Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for eligible non-citizens from 180 days to up to 540 days. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Senator Angus King, and Governor Janet Mills—who just days ago sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigra... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Senator Angus King, and Governor Janet Mills are leading a push to codify the temporary rule granting a 540-day automatic extension to expiring work authorizations for immigrants and asylum seekers. This comes as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to work through an extensive backlog in work permit processing, putting hundreds of thousands at... Read More »

Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree applauded the state’s updated Four-Year Climate Action Plan, which was released today by Governor Mills, members of her cabinet, and the Maine Climate Council at an event in Bath. Pingree, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee, released the following statement: “I commend the Maine Climate Council for the... Read More »

During a House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on missing and murdered indigenous women on Wednesday, Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the growing crisis—and providing the necessary resources to address it. Maulian Bryant, incoming Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance and member of ... Read More »

Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, are announcing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant Office’s decision to award seven Maine projects with $1,941,692 in funding for the American Lobster Research Program. The grant program supports projects that address critical knowledge gaps about American ... Read More »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) welcomed news from the Biden-Harris Administration that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) will double the number of available H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 to nearly 131,000. The additional 64,716 H-2B visas that will be available is on top of the congressionally m... Read More »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced more than $1.2 million in federal grants for businesses in Maine’s First District through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The grants were made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was passed by Congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Biden in 2022. “On... Read More »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on the projected results of the 2024 Presidential Election: Like so many Americans, I’m deeply saddened by the outcome of the presidential election, and fearful of what it means for our country in the weeks, months, and years ahead. For the rights and safety of women in Maine and across America. For the future of our c... Read More »

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced $37.6 million for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Maine families lower their heating costs this winter—part of a $3.7 billion investment awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children & Families’ Office of Community Services. "With Maine families facing another win... Read More »

Today, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree led 42 Members of Congress in urging President Joe Biden to designate the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle as a national monument. “Frances Perkins, who made her home in Maine, was a trailblazer, the first female presidential cabinet member, the mother of the modern labor movement, and a pioneering advocate for social justice, economi... Read More »