Chellie Pingree

I mentioned before that you were kind enough to come and visit in the State of Maine, and you joined with me in a really challenging meeting talking to people who are dealing with the front lines of the crisis around PFAS contamination.

Thank you for bringing your experience and your perspective to that role.

I think that is a really important topic that you brought up at the end.

We are very supportive of the bill. It means we wouldn't have to specifically include the main tribes into every piece of legislation

I am very grateful that President Biden is honoring the Nation's treaty and trust responsibility to address these issues.

Health and mental health and well-being are essential determinants about kids and their ability to learn in school.

The new focus of community schools is actually to connect the activities in support of kids.

I just can't say enough about how hard it is to witness this going on and to realize we just don't have the resources.

I appreciate the steps USDA has taken to provide dairy producers impacted by PFAS contamination with more options.

How will USDA ensure that the apple policy remains viable for growers in Maine?

I, for one, was very excited to see Secretary Vilsack announce more details about the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Initiatives yesterday, so consider me a strong supporter, and I think it is a great idea.

I think that is a growing problem, really critical in my state, and I am looking forward to working with you.

It is shameful how long it has taken to get these done.

We are hoping to move that forward, and particularly some of the extra funding we have had to deal with supply chain issues.

I am particularly excited that two of our practicing farmers are females, so great to have both of you on the panel as well.

We believe that any funding for a Forest Conservation Easement Program must be in addition to the funding for ACEP.

Maine is the most forested state in the nation with a lot of private forest land, so that is a big interest to us.

It is such an important time to be discussing these programs as we look into the farm bill.

I think we are all interested in this.

I just want to follow up a little bit because it is an issue I have brought up previously.

Technical assistance is one of the key opportunities and, frankly, challenges when it comes to serving rural places.

Maine is considered one of the most rural states in the nation, and we have a lot of distance between internet service providers.

We are all so supportive of doing more for rural America.

I know there have been some concerns raised about insufficient access in rural communities, which is kind of ironic, since it is in the rural communities that we are producing so much of the food.

It is so important today that we talk about how we reduce costs, but also how do we provide that important safety net.