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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today voted for the ALLIES Act, bipartisan legislation designed to protect Afghan partners and expedite the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan. The Afghan SIV Program was created in 2009 to provide safety for Afghan interpreters, contractors, and security personnel who worked with the U.S. government in Afghani... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced two multi-year grants from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) totaling $1,403,864 will be awarded to the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Penobscot tribe’s Atlantic Salmon Management and Outreach Project. The funding will support the recovery of the endangered Atlantic salmon. “Climate change, overfishing, an... Read More »

A longtime champion of cleaning up PFAS chemicals, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today cast a vote to pass the PFAS Action Act—comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to protect all Americans and the environment from the harms of forever chemicals (PFAS). The bill will establish a national drinking water standard for select PFAS chemicals, designate two types of PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, as haz... Read More »

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, urging the Biden Administration to take steps to allow fully-vaccinated Canadians to cross the U.S.-Canada border for business or leisure given current health conditions. The Delegation’s letter comes on the heels of a recent dec... Read More »

Today, Congresswomen Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Julia Brownley (D-CA), and Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) introduced two bills, the Zero Food Waste Act and the Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion Of Sustainable Techniques (COMPOST) Act, to reduce the amount of food wasted in the U.S. and to redirect food waste to composting projects. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced companion legislation ... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced that three projects in Maine have received $180,058 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Grant program to support local food procurement and agricultural education in Maine schools. “Empowering schools to access healthy, locally grown foods will help to transform our food system, connecting kids to the process o... Read More »

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today voted to pass the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill, as well as the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies bill. Pingree secured increased funding to combat the climate crisis, invest in safe housing and modernized transportation, create thousands ... Read More »

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the full House Appropriations Committee has approved the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies bill and the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill. Pingree secured increased funding for programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ... Read More »

Following the House Agriculture Committee’s markup of the bipartisan Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement: “Reliable internet access is no longer a luxury—it’s an essential service that keeps our businesses, homes, and lives connected to one another, especially in the most rural state in the country. Maine cu... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today advanced an increase in the number of H-2B visas through an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill. The provision would give DHS the authority to add up to 64,716 additional visas in FY2022 which could nearly double the number of H-2B visas available next year to seasonal businesses in Maine and across the country. C... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced a bill today to require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide inmates from jurisdictions that allow inmates to vote, like the District of Columbia, Maine, and Vermont, information on how to register to vote and request absentee ballots. “Maine is only one of ... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced Bigelow Laboratories in East Boothbay, Maine has received a grant of $1,997,178 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study deep-ocean ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change and human-caused environmental impacts. “Two-thirds of Earth’s surface is covered by deep ocean seafloor, but we don’t know much about these ecosyste... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the University of Maine a $300,000 grant to build agricultural literacy through immersive culinary experiences for Maine’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Culinary Arts Instructors, encouraging use of Maine grown, processed, and produced foods in their programs and careers. “Maine is nationa... Read More »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today voted for the INVEST in America Act, legislation that would infuse $715 billion dollars into essential surface transportation and water infrastructure programs nationwide, laying the groundwork for President Biden’s broader infrastructure goals. The bill, which passed the House 221 to 201, would also authorize historic levels of federal assistance for ... Read More »

Chair of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced that the full House Appropriations Committee has approved the FY2022 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which increases appropriations by more than 20 percent above Fiscal Year 2021. “We must confront the looming climate em... Read More »