WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree will serve as a minority member of the House Appropriations Committee during the next Congress, her office announced Thursday.
The committee sets spending priorities for all federal programs. Pingree will be only the second House Member from Maine since 1899 and only the fifth Mainer in history to serve on the Committee, a release from her office states.
“It’s a great opportunity to have a significant impact on how money is spent on programs that affect Maine, like shipbuilding or agriculture,” Pingree said in the release. “I know it will be a lot of work but will be well worth it to be able to influence spending priorities in Maine and nationally.”
The Appropriations Committee is divided into subcommittees, and because both shipbuilding and farming are important to Maine, Pingree plans to ask to be placed on the Defense and Agriculture subcommittees.
Don Bilodeau, a member of the union representing most of the workers at Bath Iron Works, which builds destroyers for the U.S. Navy, praised the appointment.
“Congresswoman Pingree has always fought for BIW and this is going to put her in a position to be even more effective in making sure we have the contracts we need to keep workers on the job,” Bilodeau said in the release.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and is likely to continue in that role during the next Congress. Pingree said she looks forward to working with Collins to make sure programs that are important to Maine are funded adequately.
Before Pingree, only four Maine House members have been placed on Appropriations, starting with James G. Blaine who served one term just after the Civil War. Eugene Hale served for six years in the 1870s, and Nelson Dingley served on Appropriations for four years in the late 1890s. The last Maine House member to serve was 2nd District U.S. Rep. William Hathaway, a Democrat, about 40 years ago.
Pingree plans to ask congressional leaders for a waiver to allow her to continue to serve on the House Armed Services Committee, as well as the House Agriculture Committee.
“‘Congresswoman Pingree has always fought for BIW and this is going to put her in a position to be even more effective in making sure we have the contracts we need to keep workers on the job,’ Bilodeau said in the release.”
Yep, as we try to wrangle the huge debt–always attributed to W’s Defense spending–it’s good to know the unions have our best fiscal future in mind. If a military contractor’s mouthpiece had backed an R that got on the HASC and said this, the Ds would have excoriated him/her. One man’s pork…
maybe her hausband has a change to break the 10 billon dollar mark now.
Prediction- absolute party line votes, pandering to BIW and farmers. Small business and tax payers take it on the chin again.
Oh its just Federal money, it’s not like we’re paying… er… well at least we will get some of each dollar back that the Feds don’t spend on themselves redistributing it. Minus the 40% we borrow from china and will end up paying the interest for. It’s all so exciting.
I think I’ll watch some Zumba videos to cheer up and get her picture out of my mind.
Prediction: Pingree represents her district, liberal Southern Maine, so well that she’ll be reelected and/or move up to Governor or Senator. Is there any doubt that she would have won if Angus King had decided not to run?
Also, Maine and the second district will continue to grow even more liberal as better-educated and wealthier residents move into coastal towns. Republicans redrew district boundaries before the last election and were beaten even worse than before. Republicans, as a party, have less than 40% of voters agreeing with them while over 60% agree with Democrats. The more people vote, the better Democrats do. Maine voters are not stupid. They are not freeloaders. They are not tricked. They are not ineligible frauds stealing elections. Most of them (us) simply don’t agree with Republicans. It’s plain arithmetic.
Despite the fluke of Mr. LePage’s 38% election, Maine is a liberal state and getting more so. Pingree and others like her are the future.
Almost 1/3 of the voters get some form of public aid. Another large percentage are public employees. That’s simple arithmetic. With the worst state ranking in business climate, it’s easy to see Maine”s future. And it ain’t pretty.
I’m sorry you have such a gloomy outlook for our great state. Perhaps you’ve had some bad luck in your life?
Voting patterns show that Maine has grown more and more liberal since the 1970s.
Now I can fish in our rivers. Then I couldn’t.
Now I can dig clams in local clam-flats. Then I couldn’t.
Now I can breath fresh clean air. Then it stunk from paper mills. (This while, according to paper industry sources, in 2012 we are making “more paper in Maine than ever before”.)
Now, even during this terrible recession our unemployment rate has been better than most states. Then it was always among the worst.
Now Maine’s literacy, infant mortality and poverty rates are far better than they were then, particularly when compared to otehr states.
As more of Northeastern US’s educated professionals, artists and retirees move to our beautiful state (where the air and water no longer stink), our future will grow even brighter…and more liberal.
No quite the opposite, I am a successful businessman. (But I was looking at my tax burden today).
It’s a beautiful state, no doubt, but staggering debt, and no chance of attracting new business. It’s great that you are enjoying a better environment, but the mounting debt will drive young people out of state, dooming it’s future. Why stay here when you can work in NH with no income or sales tax?
And save your breath on the property tax argument; I own property there too and the rates are comparable.
Have you seen Belfast lately? Probably don’t recognize it without all the chicken guts and feathers in the harbor. And with the brand new beautiful job creating shipyard there instead.
Seen Bath, Harpswell? The mid-coast with the new vinyards and gormet food producers? Maine Street Rockland and the new arts community there? Rockport, where they can’t keep up with demand for the yachts they build?
Please,take a look around. You’ll be amazed about what good things are happening. Then maybe you’ll stop running down our great state.
Excuse me. Maine has very low debt compared to other states and a very high credit rating. We have been retiring debt faster than creating it in recent years.
We have little chance to attrach business because we are an end-of-road state far from major transportation hubs with little infrastructure and an undereducation population with obsolete skill sets (lots of old people). We can’t move the state next to Boston, but we can invest in correcting many of the other problems.
Pingree on appropriations? like hiring a thief to guard the bank.Hubby has an inside track now
I was thinking it was like putting a fox in charge of the hen house but I didn’t want fox and Pingree to be misinterpreted…
How did this ever happen that Maine is represented by a jet setting trust funder fraud?
Oh Boy! The thief is in the vault!….Nothing “inexpensive” can come of this!
I still want a jet to ride around in, too.
Well, there goes the money Honey!
Hey, you guys voted for her, eat the bacon!
Appropriations committee ?
Aprapos ! Mais oui ?
Great committee assignment. All of Maine will benefit.