Pingree, Chellie RSS Articles

Pingree, DeLauro: New GAO Report Builds Case for Congressional Action on Textile Waste

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), founder of the Slow Fashion Caucus and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, released a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on developing a textile circular economy in the United States. The report, requested by Pingree and DeLauro, builds on GAO’s December 2024 report on textile waste and lays out how policymakers can take federal action to address textile waste as momentum grows in states and other countries.

“GAO’s 2024 report made clear that the growing textile waste crisis demands federal leadership. Now, as states and other countries take action, this new report gives Congress an important resource to build on that momentum,” said Pingree. “Keeping textiles in use longer can cut pollution and create opportunities for American businesses that repair, reuse, and recycle them. I recently introduced the Textile Waste Reduction Act to lay the foundation for a coordinated national response. This report strengthens the case for that effort and outlines options for how Congress can seize this opportunity to reduce waste, support American businesses, and protect our environment.”

“States and countries around the world are already figuring out how to keep clothing out of landfills, and this report shows the United States does not have to be left behind,” said DeLauro. “A healthier textile economy means jobs in repair, resale, and recycling. It means less pollution in our soil and water. And it means lower costs for communities running out of landfill space. GAO found that what is holding us back is a lack of infrastructure, funding, and reliable data. Congress can fix all three. It is time to build a new kind of textile industry here at home – for the economy, for the environment, and for workers.”

GAO’s December 2024 report documented the environmental harms of textile waste and found that federal efforts to address it were fragmented and given a lower priority than other goals. GAO recommended that Congress consider directing and expressly authorizing federal entities to take coordinated action to reduce textile waste and advance textile recycling.

The new report broadens that work to examine a textile circular economy: a system that keeps clothing and other textiles in circulation through durable design, reuse, repair, and recycling. Drawing on research, site visits, and interviews with 49 stakeholders, GAO identifies potential benefits including new jobs and markets in secondhand retail, repair, recycling, and infrastructure development; reduced pollution and demand for raw materials; and changes in how consumers purchase and dispose of textiles.

GAO also identifies barriers to realizing those benefits, including limited domestic infrastructure and funding, gaps in comprehensive data, and a lack of common terminology and standards.

The report documents policies being proposed, enacted, or implemented in U.S. states and abroad, including textile producer responsibility programs in California, France, and the Netherlands, and the European Union. These efforts offer U.S. policymakers lessons as they consider how to support textile circularity nationwide.

GAO’s menu of policy options ranges from maintaining the federal status quo to expanding industry responsibilities, providing incentives such as tax credits, restricting textile disposal in landfills, improving data collection, and educating consumers. The report describes opportunities and considerations associated with these approaches without endorsing a particular option.

Pingree’s Textile Waste Reduction Act would establish a coordinated federal framework to advance textile circularity. The legislation would require a comprehensive National Textile Circularity Strategy, create an Interagency Working Group and stakeholder advisory board to coordinate and inform federal activities, improve textile waste data collection, and make existing federal funding opportunities easier to identify. These steps would help provide the foundation for policymakers to evaluate and pursue the opportunities outlined in GAO’s new report.

Textile waste is now one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the United States, with millions of tons of textiles discarded each year and the vast majority ending up in landfills. These discarded materials may leach contaminants including PFAS and microplastics into water and soil and increase costs on communities grappling with capacity shortages at landfills.

Despite the harmful impacts of this fast fashion-driven increase in textile waste, there has been no coordinated effort at the federal level to tackle this problem and support a more circular textiles economy.

In addition, over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of fiber and textile jobs that once sustained communities across America have shifted overseas, harming American farmers and communities in the process.

Pingree founded and launched the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus in June 2024 to create climate-smart policies to reduce, repair, rewear, and recycle textiles. The caucus has garnered widespread support, including from American Circular Textiles, the Garment Worker Center, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, Patagonia, ThredUp, fashion designer and slow fashion influencer Kelly Dempsey, and more.

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Pingree Joins Bipartisan Call to Increase Home Heating Assistance Funding

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and a bipartisan group of 73 members called on the House Appropriations Committee to provide an additional $3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27).

In the letter, led by New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas, the members wrote, “As the war with Iran remains unresolved, energy prices are expected to keep rising, with heating oil up 60% since February. LIHEAP’s $4 billion in funding for the last fiscal year would fall significantly short in meeting the needs of American families this fiscal year.”

“LIHEAP is a critical lifeline for low- and moderate-income individuals, but even if your household qualifies, LIHEAP does not provide guaranteed security. Five out of six families who qualify for LIHEAP receive no financial assistance due to the program’s woefully underfunded status. When adjusting for inflation, LIHEAP funding is lower now than it was in 1981 when the program was first created. If LIHEAP was funded at the same level as it was 45 years ago, the program would have received nearly $7 billion in FY27,” they continued.

“Emergency LIHEAP assistance is urgently needed as winter weather approaches and colder temperatures have already begun. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and purchasing other essential items like food, medication, or rent. Congress must act and not leave families in the cold,” they concluded.

LIHEAP helps low-income individuals and families pay for heating and cooling and mitigates the impacts of rising energy costs and extreme weather events. Across the nation, LIHEAP helps nearly 6 million households afford their energy bills,including more than 45,000 households in Maine, but Secretary Kennedy’s decision last year to fire all LIHEAP staff last year and President Trump’s repeated demand to cut all funding for the program has put this assistance at risk. In response, Pingree and 89 of her Congressional colleagues in called for the protection of LIHEAP and the rehiring of all HHS staff who manage the LIHEAP program that were fired in April 2025.

Last week, Pingree and a group of 24 Members of Congress representing Northeastern states pressed the Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to address the rapidly rising cost of heating oil, which has surged around 60 percent since the start of President Trump’s war in Iran.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed crude oil from $72 to over $100 a barrel, causing a massive increase in heating oil costs in the United States. American families that rely on heating oil are projected to pay about $600 more to keep their homes warm this winter than last year. In Maine, which uses more residential heating oil per capita than any other U.S. state, the statewide average price of heating oil recently hit a record $6.02 a gallon—marking an 80% increase over last year.

Pingree is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and has long fought to protect and fully fund LIHEAP.

Read the full letter here.

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Op-Ed: Mainers are in for a harsh winter— thanks to Republicans

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Read my Op-Ed in The Portland Press Herald

Between the mountains of snow, the waves of bitter cold and the occasional Nor’easter, we Mainers are no strangers to harsh winters.

This winter could be one of the hardest in recent memory. And not because of the weather. The statewide average price of heating oil just hit a record $6.02 a gallon. As of Sept. 28, it was still averaging $5.96 — up nearly 79% from the same week last year. At today’s price, a 250-gallon fill-up costs about $1,490 — an expense many Maine families will face more than once this winter.

Meanwhile, gas prices are hovering around $4.40 per gallon as of Sept. 25, according to Maine Public.

As if all this wasn’t awful enough, the number of Mainers receiving assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has fallen by 13% — 13,000 people in all, including 7,000 children. Another 31,000 Mainers are projected to lose MaineCare coverage over the next year.

Add it all up and this winter is going to put an enormous strain on Maine families — especially those who can least afford it.

This looming crisis is the result of choices President Trump and congressional Republicans made. Choices they continue to defend.

Let’s back up to July 4, 2025, when the president signed his hallmark legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law.

The “Big Ugly Bill” is a more accurate name. It slashed Medicaid by $1.2 trillion and SNAP by $211 billion over the next decade, all while handing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.

Far from offsetting those devastating cuts, the Big Ugly Bill’s ludicrous tax breaks are projected to increase federal deficits by $4.6 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also handed $175 billion to the Department of Homeland Security, helping turbocharge the Trump administration’s cruel immigration enforcement agenda and bringing chaos and violence to communities across the country. That includes Maine, where an ICE agent shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford on July 13.

The young father was not the target of ICE’s operation that morning. He had no criminal history, and we don’t have body camera footage of the shooting. His family has still not been contacted by the federal government and is still waiting for a full accounting of what happened.

This bill will go down as one of the most irresponsible, destructive, and costly pieces of legislation in American history. Not just in terms of its fiscal recklessness, but its human toll as well: nearly 13 million fewer people enrolled in Medicaid by 2034 and roughly 2.4 million fewer people receiving SNAP in an average month, according to CBO estimates. Its consequences will reach every community in America, in shuttered rural hospitals, overwhelmed food banks and increased costs for state and local governments.

The Big Ugly Bill alone would have been devastating enough for Maine. Then Trump’s reckless, unauthorized war of choice in Iran has kicked every one of these crises into overdrive. In the nearly eight months since the war began — a conflict Trump insisted wouldn’t last more than a few weeks — the global economy has been thrown into turmoil.

The on-again, off-again closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints, has sent energy prices skyrocketing — and disrupted the flow of goods around the world. When the world’s energy supply gets squeezed, everyone pays more. In a state like Maine, where a colder-than-average winter can mean the difference between keeping the heat on and putting on extra layers just to stay warm, the potential consequences are catastrophic.

None of this had to happen. These crises have been created or made worse by Trump’s policies — and by congressional Republicans’ refusal to push back on the president and stand up for their constituents.

And now, with Americans staring down record energy costs, Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home early for a seven-week campaign recess. Rather than staying to work on the many challenges facing our nation, Republicans tucked tail and left.

Republicans could’ve chosen to help you. They chose to help the already-rich get even richer — and to give an army of masked, heavily armed and utterly unaccountable ICE agents virtually unlimited resources to terrorize our communities.

My Democratic colleagues and I have been fighting them every step of the way. We’ve voted against these devastating cuts. We’ve introduced legislation to protect healthcare and food assistance. We’ve demanded accountability for an administration that continues to put its deeply unpopular agenda ahead of the people it’s supposed to serve.

And we are demanding action on the heating crisis: end the war in Iran, protect the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, reverse changes to the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings Rebates and High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate programs and reinstate the energy efficiency tax credits Republicans eliminated. Speaker Johnson should call the House back to Washington so Congress can get to work.

We will keep fighting — at every turn, and for as long as it takes. Because Mainers deserve better. They deserve a government that makes their lives more affordable — not one that cuts their healthcare and food assistance, sends energy prices through the roof and hands massive tax breaks to the people who need them least.

Mainers have survived plenty of hard winters. But the hardships coming this winter are the result of decisions made by Republicans in Washington, who would rather leave town than fix the problems they created.

As Trump’s War in Iran Drives Up Heating Oil Prices, Pingree Demands Administration Provide Relief for Skyrocketing Winter Heating Bills

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and a group of 24 Members of Congress representing Northeastern states are pressing the Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to address the rapidly rising cost of heating oil, which has surged around 60 percent since the start of President Trump’s war in Iran. In their letter—led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass)—the lawmakers urged the DOE to support an immediate end to the war and prioritize lowering energy costs for the winter, warning that rising prices will force families to choose between heating their homes and paying for basic necessities.

“Heating oil costs for the upcoming winter are projected to reach record levels, and families throughout the northeastern United States will likely bear the brunt of these costs,” wrote the lawmakers.

The President’s war in Iran has played a large part in driving up the price of heating oil. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed crude oil from $72 to over $100 a barrel, causing a massive increase in heating oil costs in the United States. American families that rely on heating oil are projected to pay about $600 more to keep their homes warm this winter than last year. In Maine, which uses more residential heating oil per capita than any other U.S. state, the statewide average price of heating oil recently hit a record $6.02 a gallon—marking an 80% increase over last year.

In addition to jacking up the cost of heating oil, the Trump administration has made or attempted to make heating costs for the upcoming winter even higher by:

Attempting to eliminate the $4 billion Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that supports families with high energy bills.
Effectively increasing taxes on solutions to the heating cost crisis by eliminating four tax credits and deductions that supported residential and commercial building energy efficiency upgrades.
Cutting more than $20 billion in clean energy and grid modernization funding for hundreds of energy projects across the country that would have decreased costs for families.

“As Americans face immense difficulty with keeping the heat on, the administration appears to be cutting off all avenues for meaningful relief, handing out tax cuts to billionaires, spending tens of billions of dollars on an unnecessary foreign war, and jacking up costs for struggling families,” the lawmakers continued.

“To address these costs for American families, we urge you to reverse course on the senseless war in Iran, undo the administration’s cuts to clean energy and grid modernization programs, work with Congress to repeal the tax increases imposed on energy efficiency upgrades and other ways to lower heating costs, and end the administration’s attacks on LIHEAP,” the lawmakers concluded.

The lawmakers were joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.); and Representatives Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.).

The full letter is available here and is copied below.

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Secretary Wright:

We write to ask that you take immediate action to address the impact on our constituents of the rapidly rising cost of heating oil fueled by the President’s war in Iran and the administration’s failed policies. Today, the price of heating oil is around 60 percent higher than before the Iran war.1 The costs will be borne by American households struggling to heat their homes this winter while making ends meet. Instead of continuing down this path, we urge you to support an immediate end to the war and to stop blocking or restricting Department of Energy (DOE) programs that would help American families lower their energy bills.

Heating oil costs for the upcoming winter are projected to reach record levels, and families throughout the northeastern United States will likely bear the brunt of these costs. American families that rely on heating oil are projected to pay about $600 more to keep their homes warm this winter than last year. The price of heating oil has steadily risen to more than $4 a gallon, nearing record highs. Families from our states will shoulder the brunt of these prices: around one-third of New England homes rely on heating oil to heat their homes, and in some states, around half do. Families that warm their homes with heating oil are estimated to see their energy bills spike from $1,740 to around $2,300, placing immense strain on families and forcing them to make impossible decisions about whether to keep the heat on, the fridge stocked, or critical medical necessities in supply.

The President’s war in Iran has played a large part in driving up the price of heating oil. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global trade in crude oil and impacted global supplies of heating oil and diesel, both refined products distilled from crude oil. Before the Iran war, crude was trading at $72 a barrel; now, the price for crude oil has jumped to more than $100 a barrel. Government reports indicate that national supplies of distillate fuel oil, which includes heating oil, are at their lowest levels on record. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has assessed that constrained global supplies are “contributing to low U.S. diesel inventories and high diesel prices.”

Meanwhile, U.S. refiners and fossil fuel companies have seen banner profits while shipping heating oil abroad. As EIA notes, constraints in the global supply for heating oil have “raised domestic prices and incentivized U.S. exporters to increase distillate exports.” U.S. weekly exports of distillate products, including heating oil, hit a record high in August.

President Trump promised that high energy prices would be a “small price to pay” for a “little while” at the start of the war. In March 2026, you said that “prices have likely peaked and they’ll start going down,” stating that “[t]his is a weeks…not a months thing.” Yet, months later, energy prices have continued to surge.

Adding insult to injury, the Trump administration has made heating for the upcoming winter season even more expensive in other ways.

The administration has attempted to eliminate the $4 billion Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that supports families with high energy bills.
The administration has effectively increased taxes on solutions to the heating cost crisis, by eliminating four tax credits and deductions that supported residential and commercial building energy efficiency upgrades.
The administration has cut more than $20 billion in clean energy and grid modernization funding for hundreds of energy projects across the country that would have decreased costs for families.

As Americans face immense difficulty with keeping the heat on, the administration appears to be cutting off all avenues for meaningful relief, handing out tax cuts to billionaires, spending tens of billions of dollars on an unnecessary foreign war, and jacking up costs for struggling families.

To address these costs for American families, we urge you to reverse course on the senseless war in Iran, undo the administration’s cuts to clean energy and grid modernization programs, work with Congress to repeal the tax increases imposed on energy efficiency upgrades and other ways to lower heating costs, and end the administration’s attacks on LIHEAP.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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Reps. Pingree, Garcia, Casar Call for Accountability After Three ICE Shootings and Body Camera Failures

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), and and Greg Casar (D-Texas), today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director David J. Venturella calling for answers and accountability following three Immigration and Customs Enforcement shootings in their congressional districts where agents failed to wear body cameras.

The full letter is available here.

The Members point to the shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas; Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine; and Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin, Texas. In the latest case, Garces Perez was shot in the back by an ICE agent in Austin on September 20. The agent had been issued a body camera but was not wearing it. A second agent was wearing a camera, but it did not capture the shooting.

The repeated failures come despite significant funding from Congress. Earlier this year, Congress appropriated $20 million specifically for procuring, deploying, and operating body-worn cameras for federal immigration enforcement officers.

That is on top of an unprecedented increase in funding for ICE. Congress provided ICE roughly $75 billion in supplemental funding in 2025, followed by another $38.5 billion in 2026 through the Secure America Act.

“Over and over again, we’ve seen DHS agents resort to deadly violence when conducting enforcement operations in our districts. And when we demand to see the body cam footage, they give us the same tired excuses. No more,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “The fact that DHS has failed to outfit its officers with body cameras—despite having hundreds of billions of dollars at its disposal and more than a year to procure and deploy this equipment—is totally unacceptable. There is simply no reason that a federal agency with more money than most countries’ entire GDPs is not held to the same standards as local law enforcement. We deserve the truth about why cameras weren’t deployed during these most recent shootings, including the one that took the life of my constituent, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, in Biddeford, Maine on July 13. Our demands are simple: Every immigration enforcement officer must have a working body camera, must be properly trained on how to use it, and be held accountable when that camera isn’t used.”

“ICE is not short on money. Congress has provided billions of dollars to this agency, and after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed in my district, we were told body cameras were coming. The money is there. The deadlines have passed. So why does this keep happening?” said Congresswoman Garcia. “This is completely unacceptable. When federal agents use deadly force, the public should not be left in the dark. There must be transparency, accountability, and answers for the families who are left behind. Lorenzo’s family deserves answers. They deserve justice. DHS and ICE need to explain why their body camera system keeps failing when it matters most.”

"Wilber Garces Perez was shot in the back in Austin by an ICE agent who wasn't wearing a body camera, weeks after DHS promised every officer in the field would have one," said Congressman Casar. "Secretary Mullin keeps making promises while his agents keep shooting people. Secretary Mullin must release every second of footage from that scene, so we can know the truth.”

The letter also points to commitments DHS made following the July 7 killing of Salgado Araujo in Houston. During a July 15 phone call with Congresswoman Garcia, Secretary Mullin said all federal immigration officers would have body-worn cameras within 45 to 60 days. That deadline passed in September.

Salgado Araujo, a Houston construction worker and father of three, was killed without available body camera footage capturing the shooting. Days later, ICE fatally shot 25-year-old Colombian national Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero. Agents involved in Guerrero’s shooting were also not wearing body cameras. Then, on September 20, Garces Perez was shot in Austin by an officer who had been issued a camera but was not wearing it.

Members are demanding DHS and ICE explain whether all federal immigration officers have been issued working body cameras and properly trained to use them. They also ask why the officer who shot Garces Perez was not wearing his issued camera, why the second officer’s camera failed to capture the shooting, whether other footage exists, and whether officers who fail to follow body camera rules will face disciplinary action.

The Members requested written answers from DHS and ICE by October 14, 2026.

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Pingree Presses Zeldin for Action as EPA Leaves Farmers in Limbo on PFAS-Contaminated Sludge

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, is pressing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to stop delaying meaningful federal action on per-and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in sewage sludge. In a letter to Zeldin, Pingree warns that EPA’s latest draft guidance fails to provide a clear path toward enforceable protections for farmers, rural communities, and the nation’s food supply. The guidance was issued instead of finalizing EPA’s January 2025 draft risk assessment—which would have been an important step toward restricting the application of PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, on farmland.

“As you and I have discussed at length, PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health effects, including cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and weakened immune systems. Maine farmers have had their livelihoods disrupted due to PFAS contamination, which originated in sewage sludge that was spread as fertilizer by farmers who were told by the government that it was safe to use,”Pingree wrote. “Unfortunately, this sewage sludge contained PFAS, leading to contamination of agricultural land, products, and water.”

Maine has been at the forefront of testing, cleanup, and research into PFAS contamination of farmland. An extensive state investigation found contamination on more than 50 farms linked to sewage sludge application. Farmers have lost income, faced threats to their livelihoods, and experienced health problems after unknowingly spreading contaminated sludge that government authorities had said was safe. Yet instead of completing its risk assessment and tightening protections for farmers and rural communities, Trump’s EPA released draft guidance this summer that leaves its regulatory plans unresolved.

“[...] Rather than finalizing this risk assessment, the Agency’s release of Draft Guidance for Reducing Risk from PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids leaves regulatory next steps unclear and farmers in limbo,” Pingree said.

With the public comment period on the guidance scheduled to close October 5, Pingree is calling on Zeldin to explain:

Whether EPA intends to finalize its draft sewage sludge risk assessment for PFOA and PFOS;
What scientific review supports a decision not to finalize it;
How EPA will prevent further contamination and protect farmers from the unique exposure risks created by land application of sewage sludge;
When EPA will propose enforceable limits on land application;
Whether EPA will address PFAS chemicals beyond PFOA and PFOS; and
How EPA is working with the Department of Agriculture to help farmers, ranchers, and rural communities manage PFAS contamination.

“Without additional action by EPA, farmers across the country will continue to be at heightened risk from PFAS exposure from land application of biosolids,” Pingree wrote. “It is critical that EPA takes additional steps to protect our rural communities and food supply.”

The full letter is available here and is copied below.

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Dear Administrator Zeldin,

I write to you regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to reduce risk from per-and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in sewage sludge, also known as biosolids. As you and I have discussed at length, PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health effects, including cancer, reproductive and developmental harms, and weakened immune systems. Maine farmers have had their livelihoods disrupted due to PFAS contamination, which originated in sewage sludge that was spread as fertilizer by farmers who were told by the government that it was safe to use. Unfortunately, this sewage sludge contained PFAS, leading to contamination of agricultural land, products, and water.

Maine is far from the only state in this situation, but we have been on the front lines on testing, cleanup, and research. An extensive state investigation found contamination found on over 50 farms because of sewage sludge. These farmers have had their livelihoods lost or threatened and experienced health problems. This is an issue across the country whether states are taking action or not, and it is imperative the federal government, and EPA specifically, continues to advance research and remediation efforts to protect our food supply and rural economies, including by actively preventing additional contamination.

EPA’s Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), released in January 2025, was an important step towards eventual restrictions on applying contaminated sludge to farmland, but rather than finalizing this risk assessment, the Agency’s release of Draft Guidance for Reducing Risk from PFOA and PFOS in Biosolids leaves regulatory next steps unclear and farmers in limbo.

Please respond to these questions by November 16, 2026:

Does EPA intend to finalize the Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS)?
If not, how is that decision documented, and what scientific review supported that conclusion?
If not, how does EPA intend to prevent additional land contamination and protect farmers specifically from the additional, unique exposure pathways they face from land application of sewage sludge?
What are EPA’s next steps to propose enforceable regulatory limits on land application of sewage sludge?
Does EPA plan to expand its focus beyond PFOA and PFOS to other types of PFAS contamination?
How is EPA working with USDA to help farmers, ranchers, and rural communities manage PFAS impacts in agricultural settings?

Without additional action by EPA, farmers across the country will continue to be at heightened risk from PFAS exposure from land application of biosolids. It is critical that EPA takes additional steps to protect our rural communities and food supply. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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Top House, Senate Interior Appropriators Lead Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Demolition of the Kennedy Center

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Members of the House and Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittees, today unveiled legislation to protect presidential monuments like the Kennedy Center from demolition. The bicameral, bipartisan Protecting Presidential Memorials Act would prohibit any Congressionally designated memorial honoring a U.S. President—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial—from being demolished unless authorized by an act of Congress.

“The Kennedy Center is our nation’s living memorial to President John F. Kennedy—someone who truly cherished the arts. For Donald Trump to attempt to usurp this great memorial by putting his own name above JFK’s—and then threaten to demolish the building if he doesn’t get his way—is beyond the pale,” said Pingree. “When Congress designates a place to memorialize a president, no administration should be able to tear it down on a whim. This bill establishes a simple safeguard: if Congress created the designation, only an act of Congress can authorize its demolition.”

“Trump’s threats to tear down the Kennedy Center—all because the law says he can’t put his name on the building—are straight out of the authoritarian playbook and should infuriate every American who values our history and the rule of law,” said Merkley. “The Kennedy Center is one of our nation’s great contributions to the human spirit, honoring our slain president who championed the arts. This one-page bill is a straightforward solution to protect this treasure and other presidential memorials.”

On Monday night, Merkley attempted to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act—which he co-led with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—by unanimous consent in the Senate, but that effort was blocked by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

The National Cultural Center was established by Congress in 1958, renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy shortly after his death, and opened to the public in 1971. For more than 50 years, it has celebrated artistic excellence, fostered creativity and reflected Kennedy’s steadfast belief that equitable access to the arts is essential to democracy.

Pingree, who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus, has been a leading voice in Congress to protect the Kennedy Center since Trump installed himself as board chair in 2025. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Pingree successfully stripped language from the 2026 Appropriations bill that would have renamed the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump.

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Pingree, Kelly Call Out Reports of Illegal Union-Busting at Prime Healthcare

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) are leading a group of their Democratic colleagues in demanding that Prime Healthcare end alleged intimidation and retaliation against nurses engaged in federally protected union activity at its hospitals in Maine, Illinois, and Nevada. In a letter to Prime Healthcare Chairman and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy, the lawmakers cite reports of dozens of nurses being suspended or fired, police being called on nurses and organizers lawfully distributing information outside a hospital, and hospital-branded materials urging employees to vote against union representation.

The letter comes as nurses at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine; Olympia Fields Hospital in Olympia Fields, Illinois; and Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, seek representation through the National Nurses Organizing Committee. At Central Maine Medical Center alone, Prime Healthcare has suspended or fired at least 20 nurses during the organizing campaign—actions the nurses and the union allege are retaliation for advocating for safer staffing, adequate resources, and improved patient care. Olympia Fields Hospital has also reportedly suspended six nurses.

“Registered nurses at these Prime facilities are fighting to ensure they can provide the very best care to the communities they serve, including concerns about cuts to vital services that patients rely on. As you are aware, just last year, Senators Duckworth and Durbin contacted you about reversing Prime’s decision to reduce services in several newly acquired hospitals across Illinois,” the lawmakers wrote. “We remain deeply concerned about warnings from these workers that recent changes to services and designations will impact standards and delivery of care in our communities.”

The lawmakers also highlight alleged retaliation at other Prime Healthcare facilities, including the firing of six nurses at Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago ahead of a June union election and two nurses at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada. They are urging Prime Healthcare to comply fully with the National Labor Relations Act, allow employees to decide freely whether to unionize, and negotiate in good faith with workers who choose union representation.[CI3]

“All workers should have the free choice to join a union, should they choose to form one, without interference or intimidation,” they said. “[...] We will continue to monitor Prime Healthcare’s actions closely and, should nurses at those facilities form a union, expect you to negotiate a fair contract in good faith with workers in accordance with the law.”

The letter is available here and is copied below.

Joining Pingree and Kelly on the letter are: Reps. Gilbert Cisneros (D-Calif.), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).

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Dear Dr. Reddy,

We write regarding registered nurses’ ongoing efforts to organize a union at three Prime Healthcare hospitals and to express concern over alleged illegal anti-union activities. We have received deeply troubling reports from our constituents and organizers that Prime Health is unlawfully intimidating and retaliating against workers involved in union organizing activity.

As you know, workers have a right to organize free from intimidation or coercion as well as engage in protected concerted activity under Sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). We remain committed to ensuring that workers’ rights are respected in accordance with relevant federal and state laws.

Since the registered nurses at Central Maine Medical Center, Olympia Fields Hospital, and Saint Francis Hospital filed election petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), we have been informed that nurses have experienced various attempts to stop or interfere with their organizing. These efforts have included calling the police on nurses and organizers exercising their lawful right to table outside of the hospital and posting flyers with the hospital logo urging nurses to consider voting no during the NLRB election.

Additionally, multiple nurses engaging in protected activity were suspended, some of whom were then fired, after speaking out about raising patient care concerns within the hospital, including calling attention to dangerously understaffed units. At Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston, Maine, at least 20 nurses have been suspended or fired in seemingly direct retaliation for their protected union organizing activity. At Olympia Fields Hospital, six nurses have also been suspended.

In May and June of this year, management at Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago fired six nurses in alleged retaliation for union organizing efforts. While the nurses voted overwhelmingly to unionize on June 17th, the six nurses have yet to be reinstated. Additionally, two nurses were fired at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada. These reports from our constituents are highly alarming, and we take their concerns and their impact on our communities seriously.

Registered nurses at these Prime facilities are fighting to ensure they can provide the very best care to the communities they serve, including concerns about cuts to vital services that patients rely on. As you are aware, just last year, Senators Duckworth and Durbin contacted you about reversing Prime’s decision to reduce services in several newly acquired hospitals across Illinois. We remain deeply concerned about warnings from these workers that recent changes to services and designations will impact standards and delivery of care in our communities.

As you know, workers have a right to organize free from intimidation or coercion as well as engage in protected concerted activity under Sections 7 and 8 of the NLRA. We remain committed to ensuring that workers’ rights are respected in accordance with relevant federal and state laws. All workers should have the free choice to join a union, should they choose to form one, without interference or intimidation. Therefore, we strongly urge Prime Healthcare to refrain from engaging in intimidation, retaliation, or other forms of illegal interference, including illegal terminations, in accordance with the NLRA, to provide workers the opportunity to decide on their own whether they should join a union.

We will continue to monitor Prime Healthcare’s actions closely and, should nurses at those facilities form a union, expect you to negotiate a fair contract in good faith with workers in accordance with the law.

Sincerely,

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Pingree Hears Emotional Testimony from Families, Representatives of Slain ICE Victims

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a bicameral public forum of fatal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings across the country. Members heard emotional testimony on the killings of Ruben Ray Martinez and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas, Renée Nicole Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.

Watch Pingree’s portion of questioning here; the full hearing is available to watch here.

Click here for photos from the hearing.

“Listening to these families today was heartbreaking and infuriating,” said Pingree. “Ruben Ray Martinez was killed by an ICE agent, and DHS refused to even admit it happened for nearly a year, until a public records request forced the truth out. Alex Pretti was shot in the back, and it took a bystander's video to prove the government's own account of his death was a lie. Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero's family still has no confirmation that any federal agency is investigating his death, months later. How can the government take someone’s life and leave their family without a clear account of what happened or why? These families deserve answers. Congress has a duty to demand a full accounting and hold federal officials accountable for the abuses committed using taxpayer dollars. Republicans should be demanding those answers alongside us, but they have been derelict in their duties—refusing to hold hearings like this one. Democrats and I will keep fighting for the truth and for justice.”

Other Members participating in the hearing included Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Reps. Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.).

The following witnesses offered testimony about the fatal shootings of five people by federal immigration agents during the Trump Administration:

Rachel Reyes: Rachel Reyes’ son, Ruben Ray Martinez, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in March 2025 in South Padre Island, Texas. For nearly a year afterwards, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to publicly acknowledge its involvement in Mr. Martinez’s death, which only came to light through a public records request.

Donna and Brent Ganger: Donna Ganger’s daughter and Brent Ganger’s sister, Renée Nicole Macklin Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Stella Carlson: Stella Carlson recorded the killing of Alex Pretti in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Carlson, known as the “woman in the pink coat,” was on her way to work when she witnessed and filmed an immigration agent shooting Mr. Pretti in the back. Her video confirmed that DHS’s account of the fatal shooting was false.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado: Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado’s father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas in July 2026. Mr. Araujo was driving to work when he was confronted by ICE agents who fired into the vehicle, killing him.

Sean P. Murphy: Sean P. Murphy represents the family of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero who was shot and killed by an ICE agent shortly after leaving for work early in the morning hours of July 13, 2026. He was not the target of any ICE removal operation and had no criminal history. Johan Sebastián did have a social security number and valid work authorization issued by the current administration. To date, no federal agency has confirmed that they are investigating.

"The loss of Johan Sebastián is a tragedy. In the past two months, Ben [Gideon] and I have been fighting for him. We will continue to fight for him. We will continue to fight for justice and accountability And while I desperately want to keep this focused on the tragedy of losing even one life to the world, I would be remiss if I did not address the political elephant in the room, that on the other side of Johan’s life lost is the nefarious decision by this administration to steal and take that life,” Murphy said in his testimony. “[…] The only justification given for Johan’s death was that it was in the interest of public safety. You know what actually keeps the public safe? Not shooting innocent and law-abiding fathers whose only dream is to build a better life for his family.”

Watch Murphy’s full testimony here.

In August, Pingree, Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hosted a Democratic shadow hearingexamining ICE’s use of force and abuse of power following the tragic killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford.

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On Heels of Fashion Week, Pingree Champions First-Of-Its-Kind Bill to Fight Fast Fashion Pollution

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), founder and chair of the Slow Fashion Caucus, introduced the Textile Waste Reduction Act (TWRA), a first-of-its-kind bill to address the harmful impacts of fast fashion-driven waste. Based on recommendations made in the first-ever Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on fast fashion pollution—originally requested by Pingree and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) in 2023—this landmark legislation establishes the first coordinated federal framework to reduce textile waste, improve data collection, and develop a national strategy to advance circularity in the textile industry.

“The GAO report confirmed what we’ve known for years: that textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the U.S.; that it’s being driven largely by fast fashion; and that federal action is necessary to confront this crisis in a real, impactful way,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “This bill would help lay the foundation for that effort by creating a coordinated federal strategy to reduce textile waste and build a more circular textile economy. Our country has the resources and know-how to lead this effort on a global scale. It’s well past time we turn that potential into action—and help transform this wasteful industry into one that’s more efficient, more sustainable, and better for people and the planet.”

Specifically, the TWRA:

Directs the EPA Administrator to take coordinated federal action to advance textile circularity
Requires EPA to develop a comprehensive National Textile Circularity Strategy and conduct a needs assessment identifying the actions, investments, and policy priorities necessary to implement the strategy
Creates an Interagency Working Group on Textile Circularity to coordinate federal activities
Establishes an Advisory Board to provide recommendations to the Interagency Working Group
Requires EPA to identify and publish federal funding opportunities available to states, Tribal governments, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations that support textile circularity
Requires EPA to annually publish updated data on textile waste generation and management

Background:

The full text of the bill can be found here.

Pingree is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which oversees the EPA.

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