Chellie Pingree

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress provided $600 million to support Federal wildland firefighters and to ensure they receive a minimum of $15 per hour.

I am very pleased to see that this budget request builds on the historic investments made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to improve the resilience of landscapes, reduce wildfire risks, and conduct…

So I think we are the first State in the Nation to do that, and the downside of that is that now we have got all these municipal waste facilities that are having to truck these biosolids to landfills.

I will just talk a little bit more about PFAS. You know, I am not interested in being the expert in Congress on PFAS.

We have to deal with this right now.

I want to do a parochial issue on Maine's offshore wind.

This budget continues to build upon this Administration's commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

I am really pleased with what we are able to do now with some of the types of science and the types of research that we are finding for different uses of wood.

I really do appreciate it. I know the chair mentioned it earlier and I said in my opening remarks, the understanding that we have to have our Federal firefighters on par with, you know, local and other communities, and make sure that we…

Your leadership to The Forest Service is vital to our environment and communities across the country.

I am going to quote you on that, the not ridiculous part.

I would be fully committed to doing anything we can to make sure that the Justice Department... is doing their job because it is a just staggering issue that we are still dealing with this.

There is really no way to prioritize because each of these you are talking about fundamental basic needs that aren't being met.

I am very excited to be here with you today, and congratulations on your return as chair of the committee.

I know Representative McGovern has one related to Medicare in general.

The CBOC in Portland, the facility that we were finally able to see completed, is really such a high-quality facility.

I really appreciate the answers that you have been giving this morning.

I think the more we can move conventional agriculture into regenerative practices, the better off we will all be.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you so much for holding this hearing.

The existing DEA lab testing requirements plus the 10 year ban on people with drug-related felony convictions receiving a hemp license basically treat hemp like a schedule I drug, which is ridiculous in my mind.

I introduced the Agricultural Resilience Act (H.R. 2803), really just to better empower farmers with the best-available science and conservation tools.

I think we have got some sorting out to do on those questions and appreciate your insights.

Thank you very much, Chair McCollum. That is a really important topic, and I appreciate you bringing it up.

Thank you for your, you know, eloquent support for the arts in rural States.

It is sort of surprising it is the first time, but EPA's strategic plan includes a new goal focused specifically on addressing climate change.