Chellie (Chellie) Pingree (D-01)

US Representative Chellie Pingree

Chellie (Chellie) Pingree (D-01)
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Capitol: 202.225.6116
FAX: 202.225.5590
District: 207.774.5019
Representative
Room 2354 RHOB- Rayburn House Office Building 50 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20515-1901
One Silver Street
Waterville, ME 04901
Residence:North Haven, ME

Committee Assignments

RM MemberHouse Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Co-ChairCongressional Arts Caucus
Co-ChairCongressional Small Business Caucus
Co-ChairMontenegro Caucus
Co-ChairFood Recovery Caucus
ChairmanSlow Fashion Caucus
Co-ChairIceland Caucus
FC MemberBipartisan FFA Caucus
Co-ChairCongressional Friends of Sweden Caucus
MemberHouse Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
Co-ChairCongressional Organic Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Biomass Caucus
Co-ChairCongressional Cut Flower Caucus
FC MemberAquaculture Caucus
FC MemberHouse Military Depot and Industrial Facilities Caucus
FC MemberFriends of Scotland Caucus
MemberHouse Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
FC MemberCongressional Rural Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Invasive Species Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Pollinator Protection Caucus
FC MemberPublic Shipyard Caucus
FC MemberMaternity Care Caucus
MemberHouse Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry
FC MemberDefense Communities Congressional Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Offshore Wind Caucus
Vice ChairSustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC)
FC MemberHouse Trade Working Group [HTWG]
FC MemberWomen's Caucus
FC MemberJoint Congressional Arctic Working Group
FC MemberLyme Disease Caucus
FC MemberDairy Caucus
FC MemberSemiconductor Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Rural Broadband Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Military Mental Health Caucus
MemberHouse Committee on Appropriations
FC MemberCongressional Shellfish Caucus
FC MemberFriends of Ireland Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Neuroscience Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Shipbuilding Caucus
FC MemberUnited States Coast Guard Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Peace Corps Caucus
FC MemberMilitary Sexual Assault and Prevention Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Childhood Cancer Caucus
FC MemberElectrification Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Task Force
MemberHouse Committee on Agriculture
FC MemberEndangered Species Act (ESA) Caucus
WhipCongressional Progressive Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Safe Climate Caucus
FC MemberNational Guard and Reserve Components Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Primary Care Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus
FC MemberHouse Oceans Caucus
Co-Vice ChairCongressional Equality Caucus
FC MemberHouse Hunger Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Native American Caucus
FC MemberDemocratic Women's Caucus
FC MemberHouse National Service Caucus
FC MemberTom Lantos Human Rights Commission
FC MemberCongressional Ukraine Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Humanities Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Bike Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Historic Preservation Caucus
FC MemberCongressional TRIO Caucus
FC MemberHouse Small Brewers Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Coalition on Adoption
FC MemberCongressional Mental Health Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Diabetes Caucus
FC MemberBipartisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus

Bio

Chellie Pingree never anticipated a life in politics. Living on the offshore island of North Haven, Maine, she raised her kids and ran a small business. She served on the school board and as the local tax assessor, a job no one else in town wanted. But in 1991, when she was approached about running for State Senate, she jumped at the chance. She scored a remarkable upset, defeating a popular Republican, and went on to serve four terms in the Maine Senate. But throughout her political career, from Augusta to Washington and beyond, the lessons she learned on North Haven have always been her guide- Be accountable to your neighbors, and always use your common sense. Chellie Johnson (she has legally changed her name from "Rochelle") was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1955, the youngest of four children. Her father, Harry, worked in advertising and her mother, Dorothy, was a nurse. Chellie moved to Maine as a teenager, attended the University of Southern Maine, and graduated from the College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor. After college, she moved to North Haven, an island town of 350 people twelve miles off the coast of Rockland, to raise her family and make a living. Chellie has worked hard throughout her life - as a mother, as a farmer, as a small business owner, and in politics. She knows how difficult it can be to meet payroll and run a business in a small, rural community. Right after college, Chellie and her husband, Charlie, spent several years running a small farm and selling produce locally. In 1981, she started North Island Yarn, a cottage industry of local knitters, with a retail store on the island. The business expanded quickly, becoming North Island Designs, and employed as many as ten local workers in peak seasons. The business sold knitting kits and pattern books nationwide through 500 retail stores and 100,000 mail order catalogues. She sold the business in 1993.Today, in addition to her political life, Chellie co-owns and helps manage Nebo Lodge, a bed & breakfast and restaurant on North Haven, which she started with several partners in 2006. Chellie was elected to the Maine State Senate in 1992, representing Knox County. In 1996, Chellie was chosen by her peers to be the Maine Senate Majority Leader. She helped lead the Senate for four more years, until leaving office due to term limits. As a Senator, she fought for economic and social justice, taking on powerful adversaries - most notably the pharmaceutical lobby. In her last session, Pingree sponsored one of the nation's first prescription drug pricing bills, MaineRX. After a legal fight that led all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the bill became law, and has since been a model for states around the country working to lower prescription drug prices. Chellie also sponsored the successful "Parents as Scholars" program, a national model for welfare reform, which continues to help working Maine parents gain access to education to help them achieve a better life for their families. She led successful efforts to protect Maine's environment, for corporate accountability, to protect workers, to promote a women's right to choose, and in support of Maine's small businesses. As a state Senator, Chellie was also a founding member of the Maine Economic Growth Council. Pingree's leadership in Maine politics led to numerous international appointments. She traveled to Hungary as an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow, served as a member of the White House delegation to observe elections in Bosnia, and was a member of a U.S. delegation to Northern Ireland, working with women political leaders there. After being term-limited from the Maine Senate in 2000, Pingree challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Susan Collins in 2002. As one of the few outspoken opponents of the Iraq War running for U.S. Senate, Chellie mounted a strong, but ultimately unsuccessful campaign. From 2003 to 2007, Chellie served as the National President and CEO of Common Cause, a non-partisan citizen activist group with nearly 300,000 members and 35 state chapters. Common Cause's mission is to help citizens make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest. Under Chellie's leadership, Common Cause increased its membership and diversified its agenda to include limiting media concentration and consolidation, promoting Net Neutrality, and election reform, while continuing to pursue its traditional goals of campaign finance reform and oversight of government ethics and accountability. In 2008, Chellie was elected to Congress from Maine's 1st Congressional District-the first woman elected to Congress from that District. She has previously served on the House Rules Committee and Armed Services Committee. She currently sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, chairing the Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, and Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. She also sits on the House Agriculture Committee. Among other issues important to Mainers, Chellie has been an advocate in Congress for reforming federal policy to better support the diverse range of American agriculture-including sustainable, organic, and locally focused farming-as well as to reduce food waste. Many provisions from comprehensive legislation she introduced to make these reforms were passed in both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills. She received a 2017 James Beard Leadership Award for her national leadership in food system reform. Chellie has also been recognized for her leadership on a number of other issues, including assisting survivors of military sexual trauma, strengthening the creative and arts economy, and helping coastal communities address threats to their future. Chellie has three grown children--Asa, Cecily, and Hannah, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.

Election / Personal Info

First Elected: 2008    Next Election: 2024
Spouse: Donald Sussman   DOB: 4/2/1955
Counties Representing