Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) today introduced legislation to support small meat and poultry processors. The Strengthening Local Processing Act will expand options for local producers and assist smaller facilities as they adapt to the coronavirus pandemic and expand to meet demand. “Maine has almost 3,400 diversified small farms that raise livest... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today released the following statement regarding President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice just 38 days before the 2020 election: “This week, America passed a tragic milestone of 200,000 deaths from COVID-19. For the last four months, the U. S. Senate has refused to pass any economic aid and is inste... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined 84 members of the United States House of Representatives in opposing the appointment of longtime climate change denier David Legates as deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for environmental observation and prediction, a leading role at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Legates is a professor with a long history of casti... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) will receive $600,000 from the U.S. Treasury Department’s FY 2020 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. This award will enable CEI to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities in Maine. “I’m proud this federal funding will boost CEI’s work... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined her colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act. This legislation makes long overdue reforms to American energy policy, authorizing major investments in the transition to a low-carbon and eventually a net zero future. H.R. 4447, which passed the House 220 to 185, includes programs to de... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine),Vice Chair of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, today led five House members in pushing the U.S. Forest Service to extend the comment period for the Stibnite Gold Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement by 60 additional days. Full text of the lawmakers’ letter is available online here and at the bottom of this release. Midas ... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the University of Southern Maine (USM) will receive a grant of $153,342 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide 1,000 Maine employees and workers in health care, manufacturing, and food supply with online COVID-19 training. “Employees who are on the front lines of this global public health crisis should be giv... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg: “Tonight I join the nation in mourning the loss of a towering pioneer and progressive icon. For nearly 30 years, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as a counterpoint on a Supreme Court long dominated by conservative jurists. She was always a reliable voice for the d... Read more »

In support of the blueberry industry and its workers across the state of Maine, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) joined Representatives Chellie Pingree (ME-01) and Jared Golden (ME-02) in writing to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) — Ambassador Robert Lighthizer — to urge additional trade protections for Maine’s wild blueberry producers and frozen blueberry processors.... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined her colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 2694, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The legislation, which would bar employers from denying accommodations to pregnant workers and would protect said workers from retaliation, passed the House 329 to 73. Pingree is a cosponsor of the legislation. “As someone who became a mom b... Read more »