Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, today voted to pass two legislative packages that comprise all twelve FY 2020 funding bills. H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158, together will fund the federal government through September 30, 2020.

The bills make historic investments in many of Pingree’s priorities, including local and organic agriculture, election security, early childhood education, medical research including gun violence prevention, and shipbuilding at Bath Iron Works. The bills also prevent many disastrous cuts proposed in the Trump administration’s FY 2020 budget, including slashing environmental protection and safety net programs.

Pingree released the following statement after the vote:

“Today’s vote reflects a historic investment in the lives of Mainers. With these spending bills, Congress is investing in the health, safety, and livelihoods of the American people, including $425 million for election security grants, $25 million for gun violence prevention research, record-high funding for Head Start, and major support for economic development and infrastructure programs. I hope to see swift action from the Senate and President. Mainers are relying on us to provide certainty and protect our country from another senseless government shutdown.

“This isn’t a perfect bill by any means—though we blocked the White House and Republican-controlled Senate from enacting devastating cuts to programs we care deeply about, I’m disappointed to see some important provisions left out of the final bill, including those prohibiting offshore drilling in the Gulf of Maine, addressing the Trump administration’s gutting of Title X and international family planning assistance, and the disastrous and cruel border policies of the Trump administration. Still, I believe this bill delivers  critical investments to Mainers, and so I voted in favor.” 

Highlights of H.R. 1865 include:

• $495.1 million for Land and Water Conservation Fund, a $56 million increase from FY19
• $2.57 billion for National Park Service operations, a $74 million increase from FY19
• $162.25 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, up $7.25 million since FY19, the largest increases since FY10
• $28 million for Combined Sewer Overflow Grants to help municipalities adapt to rising sea levels and climate change
• $20 billion to EPA for state-level PFAS clean ups, and a requirement for EPA to report to Congress within 60 days on its work on PFAS
• $20.4 million for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), a new umbrella program championed by Pingree in the 2018 Farm Bill to streamline and support local and regional food system programs
• $20 million for the National Organic Program to enforce organic standards and fight against import fraud, an $8 million increase over FY19 funding levels

• $400,000 to implement the Food Loss and Waste Liaison at USDA, a new position championed by Pingree in the 2018 Farm Bill
• $30 million for Arts in Education grants
• $25 million for gun violence research, split between National Institute of Health and Centers for Disease Control
• $730 million for Education and Cultural Exchange programs at the Department of State

Highlights of H.R. 1158 include:

• Full funding for DDG-51, DDG-1000 and FFG(X), all ships important to Bath Iron Works
• 3.1% COLA raise for federal employees, including those at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
• Language allowing DHS to issue more H-2B visas 
• $262 million for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI)
• $169.5 million in NOAA Climate Research, up from $159 million in FY19, including set-aside funding to study marine debris, algal blooms, and ocean acidification

Pingree has served on the House Appropriations Committee since 2013. She currently sits on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, and Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.