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 »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today led 35 bipartisan members of Congress in a letter to Agriculture Committee leaders of the House and Senate urging the establishment of a new Office of Seafood Policy and Program Integration at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); support for seafood procurement from small and midsize seafood… Read more »
Today Maine’s First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced 16 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants and loans worth a total of $2.1 million for businesses in midcoast Maine. The infusion of rural development funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congressional Democrats and signed by President… Read more »
In a House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee hearing today with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) shed light on challenges Maine farmers are facing amid meat processing backlogs. Pingree, a longtime farmer and member of both the House Agriculture Committee and House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, asked… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, today announced federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to strengthen and expand the organic market in Maine. Crystal Spring Community Farm in Brunswick was awarded $100,000 through the USDA… Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a longtime farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, today announced a $249,615 federal grant to expand meat processing operations in Kennebunk. The grant will help Short Creek Meats LLC expand the capacity of its ready-to-eat packaging line and… Read more »
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a senior House Appropriator and member of the House Agriculture Committee, today announced Heather Paquette, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, as her 2024 State of the Union Guest tomorrow night. With President Joe Biden expected to highlight his efforts to curb “shrinkflation” greed among big corporations and stave off harmful… Read more »
In a House Agriculture Committee hearing today with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree sounded the alarm on the urgent need to support farmers in Maine and across the county facing challenges due to climate change. The hearing comes on the heels of devastating and costly storms in… Read more »
U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Don Beyer (D-Va.), and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced the Innovative Practices for Soil Health Act, bipartisan legislation to improve soil health on farms and support sustainable alternatives to annual agriculture by improving United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs to ensure they are better able to… Read more »
