Press Releases

Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to purchase an additional 3.8 million pounds of Maine wild blueberries to distribute to food banks and other charitable organizations across the country. Along with an earlier purchase made this year at the Delegation’s request... Read more »

Congresswoman Pingree at the opening of the VA Clinic in Portland in 2011. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is leading a bipartisan effort to expedite the approval of a lease to significantly expand a VA outpatient clinic in Portland. The leases in Portland and at 17 other VA facilities around the country need Congressional approval, but bureaucratic rules about how those leases are valued has slowe... Read more »

Coopers Mill Dam in Whitefield. Photo from maineencyclopedia.com Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said this morning that a federal grant of nearly $393,000 will help pay for the removal of a deteriorating dam on the Sheepscot River in Whitefield to allow passage of Atlantic Salmon, herring and other fish. "Allowing sea run fish up the Sheepscot is important to restoring this natural habitat for impo... Read more »

Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin today invited Maine high school students to participate in the 2016 Congressional App Challenge. Students have until November 2, 2016, to develop and submit their own smart-phone apps—a winning app from each of Maine’s Congressional Districts will be chosen to receive national recognition. “I applaud how Maine schools are using STEM education to ... Read more »

"Once again we are faced with the heartbreaking news of innocent Americans falling victim to hatred and gun violence. ..." Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree spoke out against a bill that would require a complicated labeling scheme on foods containing GMO ingredients. The US House is taking up a bill today, recently passed by the Senate, that would allow manufacturers to place a QR code on the package of food containing GMOs. A QR code requires a smartphone and a special app to access ingredient information through a website. Read more »

A major spending bill that passed the House today contains a provision introduced by Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin to exempt urchins imported to or exported from the United States from mandatory inspections by federal wildlife officials, providing important relief for an industry of more than 650 Maine workers. Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree spoke on the House floor today, calling on Republican leaders to allow votes on bipartisan legislation to reduce gun violence. In her speech, Pingree said that after the Democratic-organized sit-in two weeks ago, she's heard from many Mainers who have asked if Congress would act. Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is headed back to Washington today where she plans to join colleagues in pushing for a vote in the US House on common sense bills to reduce gun violence in America. "Gun violence has taken a huge personal toll on the lives of so many families in this country," Pingree said. "We can do a lot more to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them and this... Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and 28 of her House colleagues joined together this week to urge the Obama Administration to redefine what is considered "broadband" Internet connections for an important federal program. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the bipartisan group asked that the threshold for the Community Connect Grant Program be increased. Recently, other USDA program... Read more »