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.
The murder of George Floyd was not an isolated incident of police brutality against Black people. Since 2013, police officers have shot and killed nearly 1,000 people every year, and Black men are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than their white peers. After endless reports documenting excessive use of force, it is more important now than ever for Congress to step up to condemn racial profiling and police brutality and work to dismantle unjust systems that harm and kill Black people in this country. For George Floyd and too Black Americans many before him who’ve had their lives cut short at the hands of police, I have signed onto the following legislative initiatives that would help address the well documented problem of police brutality toward Black Americans and begin to dismantle systems that contribute to racial inequities in the first place. You can read more about these pieces of legislation below.
However, the racial injustices that permeate our country aren't limited to issues of police brutality. Systemic racism has perpetuated longstanding disparities in education, employment, housing, health care, the justice system, environmental issues, and more. Below you will find a list of some of the bills I support that would help to dismantle these inequities.