Blog Posts

Moments from 2015 (click to enlarge)

It continues to be a great honor for me to serve the people of Maine’s 1st District in Congress.  I take my responsibilities very seriously and an important one is keeping you apprised of what I am doing to represent your interests.  As 2015 draws to a close, I thought it would be a good opportunity to recap my work over the last year. 

As a Member of Congress, my duties not only include supporting policies that benefit Mainers and fighting against harmful legislation, but proposing solutions for issues that my constituents face.  In 2015, I introduced six bills on a range of issues. 

•    The Food Recovery Act would reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in this country—currently 40 percent—while making sure surplus food goes to the people who need it. (Related to this issue, I recently asked Shaw’s Supermarkets for an explanation on its decision to end donations of unsold products to local food pantries.) 
•    The Ruth Moore Act would make it easier for veterans who have been sexually assaulted to get federal benefits for their resulting disabilities.
•    The Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act would allow people to import medications from Canadian pharmacies, where they cost half as much as in the United States on average . 
•    The Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act would help the Maine economy prepare for environmental changes that threaten economically important shellfish species.
•    The Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act would shorten the length of time asylum seekers must wait before getting authorization to work and support themselves. 
•    A bill to help Maine urchin dealers would lift regulations that make it costly and difficult for them to export their valuable product. 

My seat on the House Appropriations Committee—which has a powerful role in setting federal funding levels—has also put me in a position to influence policies and programs that affect Mainers.  A couple of examples from the last year include pushing to make Lyme disease a higher federal priority and working to protect funding for a program that has extended pre-school to hundreds of Maine children whose families may not able to afford it otherwise. 

Though the partisanship in Washington is frustrating, Congress has been able to come together to pass several important pieces of legislation in 2015.  Most recently, we reauthorized federal education policies for elementary and secondary schools—rolling back many onerous elements of No Child Left Behind and giving more control back to local schools and teachers.  We also passed a five-year bill to authorize federal highway programs, providing greater certainty to help states maintain our critical transportation infrastructure.

When I haven’t been in Washington, it’s been a pleasure to visit with people and communities here at home to help celebrate their victories and discuss their concerns.  These conversations are vital in hearing directly from Mainers and taking their feedback to Washington.  Here are just a few of the meetings and events that stand out in my mind: 

•    Hosting an event on women in farming with a top official from the USDA;
•    Participating in a forum on the opioid epidemic with Sen. Angus King; 
•    Showing the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts creative endeavors that are fueling economic growth in Maine; 
•    Touring a plant in Waterville that manufactures compostable lunch trays for some of the country’s largest school districts; and 
•    Congratulating dozens of our newest citizens at a naturalization ceremony.

Working day in and day out, my office has also helped hundreds of people over the last year work through issues with federal agencies, like the VA, Social Security Administration, and IRS. 

I hope 2015 has been a good year for you and your family.  As we head into 2016—another year of challenges and opportunities for our nation—I promise that your interests will continue to guide my work. 

--Chellie