Jobs and Economic Development

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that Buxton-based VitaminSea would receive a $600,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) USDA grant to further develop SeaKelp+, a kelp-based additive for bread.  “Some of the most exciting things about Maine aquaculture right now are consumers’ growing awareness of seaweed’s nutritional benefits and the… Read more »

Maine’s Congressional Delegation announced today that Sanford-based Flemish Master Weavers prevailed in its application for an exemption from a tariff on yarn it uses to manufacture area rugs in Maine.  The ruling by the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board helps to level the playing field for Flemish Master Weavers to compete against foreign competitors and places the company in a… Read more »

Great morning spent in Waterville, talking with local organizations investing in the community's arts and creative economy. Amazing to see what's gone on here in last few years! Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today that over $2 million in USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grants will be awarded to the University of Maine and a Waterville small business to advance Maine’s agricultural economy. FoodCorps, a program that offers food and agriculture education programs in several Maine communities, also received… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that Maine organizations will receive more than $1 million in funding from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to recruit and train beginning farmers as well as assist farmers with chronic health issues and disabilities. Grants will go to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Somali Bantu Community… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) announced today that Maine organization CEI would receive a $600,000 federal grant to help Junora, a manufacturing company in Biddeford, create 30 new jobs. Funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Economic Development Program, which Pingree fought to restore funding for on the House Appropriations… Read more »

 A new round of tariffs recently proposed by the Trump Administration to crack down on Chinese intellectual property theft could inadvertently cause significant financial harm to Hussey Seating Company, a family-owned business in North Berwick that manufactures bleachers and auditorium seating for distribution across the globe.    On behalf of the company and the 300… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) today announced a total of nearly $530,000 in federal grants for several small businesses in Southern Maine. The funds comes from two USDA Rural Development programs Pingree has strongly advocated for in Congress—the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) and Value Added Producer Grants (VAPG). “These REAP grants will allow local… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has signed on as an original cosponsor of legislation that Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) introduced today to provide disaster relief to fishermen who have been harmed by the repercussions of the Trump Administration’s trade actions.   “Farmers haven’t been the only ones to suffer the consequences of the Trump… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) released the following statement in response to USDA’s plan to offer $12 billion in relief to farmers harmed in the wake of the Administration’s trade actions.  “While I appreciate the USDA for finally offering some relief to farmers who have been harmed by retaliatory tariffs, this effort is an acknowledgment of the costs of… Read more »