Chellie Pingree — Democrat Candidate for U.S. House in Maine, 2026

Chellie Pingree has condemned DHS immigration enforcement tactics, citing concerns about terrorizing communities and indiscriminate detentions. She introduced H.R. 7708, requiring DHS to return identification documents upon release, and H.R. 7743, limiting enforcement funds pending a database report. She authored the bipartisan Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, aiming to reduce the work permit waiting period for asylum seekers to 30 days, supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Pingree opposes proposals to pause work permits for asylum seekers, arguing such measures harm the economy.

“Over the past year, Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security and its untrained, masked, and violent immigration officers have terrorized and traumatized entire communities on orders from a truly lawless and morally corrupt Administration. Their assaults came to a tragic head last week in Minnesota, where agents murdered an innocent observer in cold blood. In Minneapolis and across our country, these agents continue to indiscriminately detain immigrants and U.S. citizens, forcefully trample on First Amendment and due process rights, and cause utter chaos in our communities." - Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), January 15, 2026.”

Chellie Pingree voted against 2025 funding bills, stating they would allow healthcare costs to skyrocket and price millions out of insurance. She co-introduced the bipartisan Produce Prescription for Veterans Act in 2026 to expand nutritious food access for veterans with chronic conditions, aiming for prevention and reduced long-term costs. She also advocates strengthening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, negotiating Medicare drug prices, and protecting pre-existing condition coverage.

“Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on her vote against Republican’s funding bill: From the beginning, the vast majority of House Democrats have been united in opposing any funding bill that doesn’t address the escalating health care crisis. Without immediate action, millions of Americans are going to be priced out of their health insurance in January. President Trump and Republican leadership have proven that they’re willing to take drastic measures—including a historically long government shutdown and the first-ever illegal attempt to deny SNAP benefits to [...] and the first-ever illegal attempt to deny SNAP benefits to food insecure Americans—to avoid addressing this crisis. This “deal” is going to be financially ruinous for thousands of Mainers—despite somehow managing to include provisions that will allow millions of dollars in cash payouts to Republican Senators. While it’s critical to end the shutdown and fund the government, this was not the way to do it. I am an emphatic no on this terrible bill.”

Chellie Pingree supported environmental protection by successfully working to strip Section 453, a provision shielding pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits, from the FY2026 Interior and Environment funding bill. She stated that public health should take precedence over corporate profits and that communities have the right to protect their land and children from harmful chemicals. The League of Conservation Voters has given Representative Pingree a 100% score for 2024 and a 97% lifetime score.

““For too long, powerful chemical companies like Bayer have spent billions lobbying Congress to override the voices of states, towns, and families who are simply trying to protect their health. Despite their relentless efforts and thanks to immense public pressure, we successfully stripped the industry-backed pesticides preemption rider, Section 453, from the final Interior and Environment funding bill,” Pingree said. “This provision would have handed pesticide manufacturers exactly what they’ve been lobbying for: federal preemption that stops state and local governments from restricting the use of harmful, cancer-causing [...] from restricting the use of harmful, cancer-causing chemicals, adding health warnings, or holding companies accountable in court when people are harmed. It would have meant that only the federal government gets a say—even though we know federal reviews can take years, and are often subject to intense industry pressure,”Pingree continued. “In Maine and across the country, communities have acted responsibly to limit pesticide use near schools, homes, farms, and waterways. They shouldn’t be told by Washington—or by chemical lobbyists—that they no longer have the right to protect their children, their land, or their livelihoods. By removing this rider, we pushed back against Big Chemical, preserved local control, and made clear that public health comes before corporate profits. But this is”

Representative Chellie Pingree supports reproductive rights, voting for the Women's Health Protection Act (H.R.3755), the Right to Contraception Act, and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act (H.R.8297). She voted against bills to ban Planned Parenthood funding (H.R.3762) and interfere with abortion practice (H.R.26). Pingree opposes government intervention in personal medical decisions and emphasizes that abortion bans prevent safe care, not abortions. She has expressed outrage over the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“I share the feelings of outrage, fear, and utter shock that millions of women across the country are experiencing right now. If this draft Supreme Court opinion is genuine and Roe v. Wade is overturned, a deeply partisan court will be undoing nearly 50 years of an established right to body autonomy." - Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, pingree.house.gov”

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Chellie Pingree co-sponsored the Rebuild America’s Schools Act of 2026, a bill that proposes over $130 billion in investments for public school infrastructure, focusing on high-poverty schools with health and safety risks. She also opposes cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, stating that such funding is crucial to teach kids in rural areas and support cultural institutions.

“I think it was appalling to watch the Trump Administration illegally terminate thousands of grants at both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities earlier this year. It fired nearly 80 percent of the NEH staff and revoked funding for the State Humanities Councils. This is money that was supposed to help artists and workers. To teach kids in rural areas. To support local economies that rely on cultural institutions but cannot afford to sustain them alone. In the wake of these assaults, it is critical that Congress asserts its support for the NEA and NEH. (Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Ranking Member Statement at the Subcommittee Markup of the 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Funding Bill)”

Representative Chellie Pingree supports gun control measures, including reinstating the assault weapons ban and expanding background checks. She voted to reinstate the assault weapons ban in 2021 and helped pass the bipartisan Background Checks Act. She also supported The Protecting Our Kids Act, which would raise the legal age to purchase semi-automatic rifles and outlaw high-capacity magazines.

“Assault weapons don’t just kill, they decimate the human body—to the point Uvalde parents had to identify their children by what shoes they wore to school. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about their child’s safety at school. This is a uniquely American fear. These weapons are designed for the battlefield and to slaughter with maximum destruction. Weapons of war have no place in our communities,” said Pingree.“When the federal ban on assault weapons expired nearly two decades ago, data show there was an almost immediate, steep rise in mass shooting deaths. That’s no coincidence. In fact, researchers have estimated the likelihood of mass shooting deaths fell by 70 percent when the assault weapons ban was in effect.””