House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Ranking Member Chellie Pingree joined leaders on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in pressing for answers from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack regarding failures under its Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), which have inflicted a dire food shortage crisis on… Read more »
On Wednesday night, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a longtime farmer and member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, spoke out against House Republicans’ Agriculture Appropriations bill for the 2025 fiscal year. In remarks before the full House Appropriations Committee, Pingree said the bill puts critical nutrition programs at risk, hurts… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced $7.4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to combat child hunger in Maine. Distributed through the nonprofit Full Plates Full Potential, seven organizations in Maine were awarded School Food System Innovation Grants to help schools overcome the barriers to purchasing Maine-based foods for their school meal programs… Read more »
On Friday, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee, hosted U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small in Maine, highlighting local food infrastructure and processing. Pingree and Torres Small were joined by Maine Commissioner of Agriculture Amanda Beal as well as local… Read more »
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee, voted against House Republicans’ Farm Bill proposal during the Committee’s markup on Thursday night, citing the bill’s failure to support farmers in Maine and across the country impacted by PFAS contamination, fisheries, food insecure Americans and children, foresters, and… Read more »
Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joined a bicameral group of her colleagues in Congress in encouraging the Biden-Harris Administration to use its executive authority to lower food prices for families. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the lawmakers—led by Congressman James P. McGovern (D-Mass.) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—note how corporations have… Read more »
Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a member of the House Agriculture Committee and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, applauded new action by the Biden-Harris Administration to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Notably, the new standards allow schools to require fresh foods to be locally grown, raised, or caught when… Read more »
Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced 10 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants worth a total of $657,298 for businesses in Maine’s First Congressional District. The infusion of rural development funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congressional Democrats and signed by President Biden.
“The… Read more »
U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today sent a letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough requesting information about the implementation of “produce prescription” initiatives at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). In 2022, President Biden called on VHA to begin the implementation of “produce… Read more »
Amid concerning reports that potatoes could be reclassified as grains in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, and Congressman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) are leading a bipartisan effort to express opposition to efforts to declassify potatoes as vegetables. In a letter to U.S. Department of… Read more »