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Press Releases

Responding to Pingree Request, GAO Finds USDA Has Done Too Little to Protect Farms and Forests from Climate-Driven Diseases and Pests

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drought dying crops

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee, is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to swiftly implement recommendations from a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that examines the growing climate-related risks that diseases and pests pose to American farms and…

Ranking Member Pingree Slams Interior Plan to Carve Up Yosemite for Private Development

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Yosemite National Park

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, is pushing back against the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) proposed land exchange in Yosemite National Park. The project is listed as DOI’s sixth most important priority—even though Interior has acknowledged that it has not identified the…

Ranking Member Pingree Statement on Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch

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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Smithsonian Institution, released the following statement on Secretary Lonnie Bunch’s resignation: Secretary Lonnie Bunch is a trailblazing historian and dedicated public servant who has devoted nearly four decades to the Smithsonian. From bringing the National Museum of…

Pingree, Homeland Democrats Host Hearing on ICE’s Deadly Use of Force in Biddeford

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Shadow-Hearing_11

Today, U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hosted a Democratic shadow hearing examining Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of force and abuse of power…

King, Pingree Lead Push to Protect Federal Workforce at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

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Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and U.S Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), are urging the administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would weaken longstanding civil service protections for federal employees, including the nearly 8,000 civilian workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). In a letter to Office of…

Reps. Pingree, Valadao and Sens. Ernst, Padilla Recognize American Producers During National Farmers Market Week

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U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and David Valadao (R-Calif.), along with Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), reintroduced a bipartisan resolution designating August 2–8, 2026, as National Farmers Market Week. This resolution honors the critical role farmers markets play in bridging the gap between urban and rural communities, helping people better…

Pingree Urges MaineHealth to Preserve Labor and Delivery Services at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta

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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is urging MaineHealth to preserve labor and delivery services at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta, warning that closing the unit would have far-reaching consequences for families, health care workers, and communities throughout the Midcoast. In a letter to MaineHealth President and CEO Dr. Andy Mueller and MaineHealth Chair of the Board of Trustees…

Pingree Backs Scarborough Town Council's Call for Federal Review of ICE Facility

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Ahead of the Scarborough Town Council's special meeting Wednesday evening, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) sent the Council a letter supporting their proclamation calling for a federal review of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility at 40 Manson Libby Road. In the letter, Pingree urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seriously…

Pingree Demands Answers from DHS After Fatal ICE Shooting in Biddeford

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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding answers about the fatal shooting of her constituent, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13.   “[O]nce again, a family and community is grieving because a person is…

Maine Delegation Calls for Full, Expedited Investigation into ICE Fatal Shooting in Maine

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U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Golden (D-ME) are calling for a comprehensive, transparent, and expedited investigation into the fatal shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel in Biddeford. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…