Chellie Pingree

Cosponsor · Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding VA Benefits Act or the GUARD VA Benefits Act This bill imposes fines on individuals for soliciting, contracting for, charging, or receiving any unauthorized fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The attempted commission of such offenses is also punishable by fine.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

Cosponsor · This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation. The amendment requires federal, state, and local governments to (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure equal access of citizens to the political process, regardless of economic status; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. Additionally, the judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.

Cosponsor · Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act This bill protects and preserves approximately 225,504 acres of federal land and waters in a specified area in the Rainy River Watershed of Superior National Forest in Minnesota from certain mining, such as sulfide-ore copper mining. (The area is upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. ) Specifically, the bill withdraws those acres from entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. However, the Forest Service is authorized to permit the removal of sand, granite, iron ore, and taconite from national forest system lands within such area if the removal is not detrimental to the water quality, air quality, and health of forest habitat within the Rainy River Watershed.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Cosponsor · Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Cosponsor · End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act of 2025 This bill repeals or limits tax deductions and credits related to oil and gas production; increases the amortization period of geological and geophysical expenses; prohibits the use of the last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting method by certain oil companies; and expands the definition of crude oil for certain purposes. The bill repeals the tax credits for producing oil and gas from marginal wells and enhanced oil recovery, tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells, percentage depletion, tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenses, and exception to the passive loss limitations for working interests in oil and gas property. The bill increases the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenses from two years to seven years and prohibits major integrated oil companies from using the LIFO accounting method. The bill excludes from the qualified business income tax deduction items related to oil and gas production, refining, processing, transporting, and distribution.

Cosponsor · Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025 This bill requires or authorizes certain actions related to the U. S. Postal Service (USPS). The bill requires the Department of Justice to appoint an assistant U.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Cosponsor · Safe Schools Improvement Act This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, or sex. Sex includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics (including intersex traits). Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Cosponsor · Food Secure Strikers Act of 2025 This bill allows certain striking workers and their households to maintain their eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Specifically, the bill provides that a household that would otherwise be eligible to participate in SNAP is eligible for benefits if any member of the household is on strike because of a labor dispute. Current law generally prohibits a household from participating in SNAP if any member of the household is on strike unless the household was eligible for SNAP immediately prior to the strike. Also, under current law, households are not eligible for an increased SNAP allotment as a result of the decreased income of a striking member of the household.

Cosponsor · Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Cosponsor · Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2025 This bill expands Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to include all services provided by chiropractors, rather than only subluxation corrections through manual manipulation of the spine.

Cosponsor · Saving the Civil Service Act This bill generally prohibits changes to the classification of positions in the competitive service and excepted service unless certain conditions are met. (Competitive service positions are subject to competitive examination while excepted service positions are appointed under one of five schedules. Competitive service positions have notice and appeal requirements for adverse actions that are not applicable to most excepted positions, including those of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character under Schedule C. ) On October 21, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that placed executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new Schedule F in the excepted service.

Cosponsor · Goldie's Act This bill expands enforcement provisions under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to document and record detailed descriptions of violations of the act observed during inspections and investigations. USDA must provide a copy of all records documenting violations to state, local, and municipal animal control or law enforcement officials within 24 hours of such inspections or investigations. Inspections must be held at least once a year of each research facility, the premises of each animal dealer, and each exhibitor of animals.

Cosponsor · Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act This bill temporarily prohibits the closure or consolidation of, or other limitation of access to, Social Security Administration (SSA) offices and stations, and sets forth procedural requirements for future changes to office and station availability. Specifically, the bill prohibits through at least January 21, 2029, the closure or consolidation of, or other limitation of access to, SSA field offices, hearing offices, and resident stations. On or after that date, SSA must submit a report to Congress justifying its process for selecting stations and offices to be closed, consolidated, or limited. The prohibition is lifted 180 days after the submission of such report.

Cosponsor · Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Individuals coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area.

Cosponsor · American Dream and Promise Act of 2025 This bill provides certain non-U. S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) with a path to receive permanent resident status and contains other immigration-related provisions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall provide conditional permanent resident status for 10 years to a qualifying individual who entered the United States as a minor and (1) is deportable or inadmissible, (2) has deferred enforced departure (DED) status or temporary protected status (TPS), or (3) is the child of certain classes of nonimmigrants.

Cosponsor · Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act This bill prohibits political appointees and special government employees from accessing Social Security data systems that contain personally identifiable information about Social Security beneficiaries. Specifically, political appointees and special government employees may not access systems maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that issue or record Social Security account numbers, that are used to determine eligibility for or to pay Social Security benefits, or that otherwise contain personally identifiable information about individuals receiving or applying for benefits. The bill also establishes a civil right of action for an individual whose information was negligently accessed or disclosed in violation of these provisions. The individual may bring suit against the United States if the violator was a U.

Cosponsor · Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

Cosponsor · Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Cosponsor · Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act This bill allows a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to fulfill documentation requirements for coverage, under Medicare, of special shoes for diabetic individuals. Under current law, such requirements may be satisfied only by a physician.

Cosponsor · More Homes on the Market Act This bill increases the amount of gain from the sale of a principal residence that an individual may exclude from gross income (for federal tax purposes). Under the bill, an individual may exclude from gross income gain from the sale of a principal residence of up to $500,000 (currently $250,000), and taxpayers who are married and file a joint federal income tax return may exclude up to $1 million (currently $500. 000). The bill also requires these amounts to be adjusted annually for inflation.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Cosponsor · Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer (i. e. , breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body). Specifically, the bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.

Cosponsor · Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act or the I CAN Act This bill allows other health care providers besides physicians (e. g. , nurses) to provide certain services under Medicare and Medicaid. Among other changes, the bill (1) allows a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to fulfill documentation requirements for Medicare coverage of special shoes for diabetic individuals; (2) expedites the ability of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise Medicare cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs; and (3) allows nurse practitioners to certify the need for inpatient hospital services under Medicare and Medicaid.

Cosponsor · Social Security Expansion Act This bill increases Social Security benefits, expands Social Security payroll taxes, and makes other changes to the Social Security program. Specifically, the bill changes the way Social Security benefits are calculated by increasing the primary insurance amount applicable to average monthly earnings that fall below a specified amount, and increasing bend points for individuals who become eligible for Social Security after 2025. (Bend points are dollar amounts at which earnings are segmented for the purpose of calculating an individual’s primary insurance amount. The share of an individual’s earnings that are replaced by Social Security decreases at each escalating bend point.

Cosponsor · American Consumer Awareness of National Source Act or the American CANS Act This bill revises country-of-origin labeling requirements for canned goods. Under current country-of-origin labeling requirements, every article of foreign origin entering the United States must be legibly marked with the English name of the country of origin of the article (with certain exemptions). This bill requires country-of-origin labeling for any agricultural product packaged in a can to (1) appear on the front label of the can; or (2) be stamped, embossed, or printed on the top of the can.

Cosponsor · American Teacher Act This bill establishes grants to increase the minimum salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers. It also authorizes a national campaign regarding the value of the teaching profession. First, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award four-year grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to establish a minimum annual salary of $60,000 (to be adjusted annually for inflation) for these teachers. Second, the bill directs ED to award grants to eligible SEAs to provide cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of teachers.

Cosponsor · No Tax Breaks for Union Busting (NTBUB) Act This bill excludes from the tax deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses amounts paid or incurred to influence employees with respect to labor organizations or labor organization activities. The bill also imposes information reporting requirements related to such expenses and imposes penalties for failure to comply. Under the bill, amounts paid to influence employees with respect to labor organizations include amounts paid (including wages and other costs) in connection with an action that results in a complaint or settlement related to an unfair labor practice or a finding of interference, influence, or coercion related to railway employees’ rights to organize and bargain collectively; for any meeting or training attended by employees and at which labor organizations are discussed; and that require certain employer disclosures and financial reporting. (Some exceptions apply.

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Cosponsor · Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission must (1) compile documentary evidence of slavery in the United States; (2) study the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (3) analyze discriminatory laws and policies against freed African slaves and their descendants; and (4) recommend ways the United States may recognize and remedy the effects of slavery and discrimination on African Americans, including through a formal apology and compensation (i. e. , reparations).

Cosponsor · Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Cosponsor · This joint resolution redesignates the memorial to Robert. E. Lee in Arlington National Cemetery as the Arlington House National Historic Site.

Cosponsor · Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025 This bill extends the specialized rate increase for Medicare payment of ground ambulance services in rural areas for an additional three years (until January 1, 2028).