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Jobs and Economic Development

Pingree: Release of Additional H-2B Visas a Win for Maine’s Small Businesses and Economy

| Posted in Press Releases
Department of Homeland Security

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…

VIDEO: In Homeland Security Appropriations Markup, Pingree Leads Push for Increased H-2B Visas

| Posted in Press Releases

Senior House Appropriator Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today led a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year 2025 Homeland Security Appropriations bill to increase the cap on seasonal labor visas, or H-2B visas. The amendment, co-led by Pingree alongside Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), comes as Maine enters its busy tourism season and continues to face a worker shortage.…

Let asylum seekers work

| Posted in Blog Posts

Read my op-ed in the Portland Press Herald What do Manhattan and Maine have in common? Most would say not too much. Typically, they would be right. Yet the Big Apple and the Pine Tree State face a pair of common challenges today: historically tight labor markets and an influx of people desperately seeking asylum. Like other cities and states coming out of the pandemic, Maine is…

Pingree Recognized for Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Efforts, Accepts ILAP’s Policy Leader Award

| Posted in Press Releases

Tonight, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) accepted the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project’s (ILAP) 2023 Policy Leader award in recognition of her work and leadership in Congress to speed up asylum seeker work authorizations. Pingree accepted the award at an event in Portland on Wednesday night, where she dedicated the award to her Portland-based constituent services team.  “I’m…

Collins, King, Pingree Announce $199K to Support Penobscot Nation Ocean and Coastal Priorities

| Posted in Press Releases

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representative Chellie Pingree announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the Penobscot Indian Nation $199,998 to increase the tribe’s involvement and support of energy, climate change and ocean-related issues. Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and dispersed via NOAA’s Regional…

Pingree Announces $540,000 for the Equality Community Center

| Posted in Press Releases
Equality Center

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced that she has secured $540,000 for the Equality Community Center in Portland to complete building renovations for its collaborative community center and workspace for underserved populations. Passed today by the House in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations package, Pingree successfully fought to fund 15 community…

Collins, King, Pingree, Governor Mills Announce Maine Defense Industry Alliance

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, and Governor Janet Mills announced the Maine Defense Industry Alliance (MDIA), a newly established non-profit coalition of Maine defense companies, state agencies, community colleges and universities, and other vocational training organizations. Based at the York County Community College (YCCC)…

Pingree Seeks Maine Veteran or Gold Star Family Member for 2-Year Congressional Fellowship in Portland Office

| Posted in Press Releases

Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today announced a 2-year paid fellowship opportunity in her district office in Portland. Pingree said the person chosen for the special Green and Gold Congressional Aide Program, formerly known as the Wounded Warrior program, will work with the military and veteran constituents to handle veterans-related casework and act as…

VIDEO: As Republicans Push Shortsighted Border Bill, Pingree Champions Bipartisan Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act

| Posted in Press Releases
CP asylum remarks

Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree on Wednesday fought back against a punitive, shortsighted Republican bill, H.R. 5283, that would prohibit federal funding for shelters to house migrants on land controlled by Federal Land Management agencies. It would also void a lease between the Federal government and NYC to authorize the use of Floyd Bennett…

Pingree Praises Biden Admin. Investment in Maine Bioforestry with Establishment of New Tech Hub

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today welcomed news from the Biden-Harris Administration that Maine will be home to one of the nation’s first Tech Hubs. The Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub, led by the Maine Technology Institute, was designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs in regions across the country, authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.…

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