Chellie Pingree's Record on AI

Chellie Pingree's Position on AI

Chellie Pingree formally supports a pause on construction and upgrades of covered AI data centers. She is listed as a cosponsor of H.R. 9442, the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, with the cosponsorship dated September 14, 2026. She is not listed as an original cosponsor.

As introduced, the bill would halt construction or upgrading of new or existing covered AI data centers upon enactment. The pause would end only after laws set product review, worker and benefit-sharing protections, utility and environmental protections, community approval, a bar on subsidies and union labor standards. Those laws must also expressly terminate the pause, and the bill sets no fixed one-year expiry.

Her AI issue page also recognizes possible progress from AI while urging slower development and independent federal review of powerful models.

Supporting H.R. 9442 does not establish opposition to every form or use of AI, and the inspected record contains no statement opposing AI as a whole.

Background at a Glance

The Congressional Directory lists Chellie Pingree as a Democrat who represents Maine's 1st District as a U.S. Representative. Her birth date is April 2, 1955, which makes her 71 years old as of November 4, 2026.

Background and Political Leaning

Her official biography says she moved to Maine as a teenager and worked as a farmer in North Haven. The biography also describes her as the small-business owner of North Island Yarn/Designs.

Local service came first. The Congressional Directory lists her on the North Haven Board of Assessors from 1981 to 1987, including as chairwoman in 1982 and 1983, and on the North Haven Planning Board from 1981 to 1991.

She then served in the Maine State Senate from 1992 to 2000, including as majority leader from 1996 to 2000. Her official biography adds that she was president and chief executive of Common Cause from 2003 to 2007, before entering the House.

Statements and Actions on AI

Her AI issue page is her office's statement of position on the subject, and the page carries no date. It recognizes possible progress from AI while urging slower development, independent federal review before powerful models are released, safety standards, incident reporting, audits, whistleblower protections, antitrust enforcement and international coordination.

The same page says there should be room for stronger state protections. It also calls for community participation and protection from data-center utility, water and environmental burdens.

She is also listed as a signatory to a September 17, 2026, letter led by Representative Yassamin Ansari that seeks international AI security safeguards.

Policies Supported and Opposed

H.R. 9442 defines covered data centers to include facilities used for AI models at scale. An alternative branch covers facilities over 20 megawatts (MW) with high-density rack power of at least 20 kilowatts (kW) or liquid or immersion cooling, and the bill does not automatically cover every server facility.

The bill would also require quarterly public Energy Department reports on financing, water, power, emissions, wastewater, cooling chemicals, noise, jobs, agreements and subsidies. Verification powers would include inspections and subpoenas, and the bill would restrict exports, reexports and in-country transfers of computing infrastructure for covered AI uses to entities in countries without comparable safeguards.

H.R. 9442 was referred to Energy and Commerce and, in addition, to Foreign Affairs. The Speaker will set the additional referral period later, and the inspected status record shows no enactment.

H.R. 5764, the AI for Main Street Act passed the House on January 20, 2026, by 395 to 14. Pingree voted yea on the motion to suspend the rules and pass it as amended.

The House-passed text would require small business development centers to help businesses evaluate and use AI. That help would cover best practices, business operations, data and intellectual property, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and trust, and Section 3 authorizes no additional funding.

The bill was received in the Senate and referred to Small Business and Entrepreneurship on January 26, 2026, and no enactment is recorded. Her yea vote supports the whole business-assistance bill, and it does not by itself establish a broader view of AI.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent on February 13, 2025, which was not a recorded individual roll call. Pingree voted yea on April 28, 2025, when the House voted 409 to 2 on the motion to suspend the rules and pass it.

The enacted law became Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025. It addresses knowing publication of nonconsensual intimate depictions, including specified digital forgeries made with AI or other software, subject to the law's conditions and exceptions.

Covered platforms must provide a notice and removal process within one year of enactment and remove covered depictions within 48 hours of a valid request. Platforms must also make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies, and the law is a specific harmful-use restriction, not a ban on AI or synthetic media.

Current Office and the 2026 Election

MainePublic reported that the Associated Press (AP) called the race for Chellie Pingree at 10:18 p.m. on November 3, 2026, and that she was reelected in Maine's 1st District.

The inspected sources do not establish certification of the result, so this page reports it as an AP call.

Her current office is U.S. Representative for Maine's 1st District, as listed in the Congressional Directory.

The office sought in this cycle is the same House seat.

Scope and Open Questions

Her cosponsored H.R. 9442 is a pending proposal whose pause applies only if enacted, while the enacted TAKE IT DOWN Act is a narrower restriction on nonconsensual intimate depictions, including specified AI or software forgeries.

Whether a given facility is covered depends on its AI use or on the alternative size and cooling test, and the bill does not automatically cover every server facility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Chellie Pingree oppose AI?

The inspected record does not show that she opposes AI as a whole. She is a listed cosponsor of H.R. 9442, which would pause construction and upgrades of covered AI data centers, and she voted yea on two bills that touch AI.

Her AI issue page also recognizes possible progress from AI, so the record supports a targeted position rather than a blanket one.

Did Chellie Pingree sponsor the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act?

She is listed as a cosponsor, dated September 14, 2026, and not as an original cosponsor. Cosponsorship is a formal record of support for the bill, but it is not a vote and not an enacted law.

Is the AI data center moratorium law?

No enactment is recorded in the inspected status record. The bill was referred to Energy and Commerce and, in addition, to Foreign Affairs.

Did Chellie Pingree vote for the TAKE IT DOWN Act?

Yes. She is recorded as voting yea on April 28, 2025, on the House motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, and the House vote was 409 to 2.

The Senate had passed the bill by unanimous consent on February 13, 2025, and it became Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025.

Did Chellie Pingree win reelection in 2026?

MainePublic reported an Associated Press (AP) call that she was reelected in Maine's 1st District at 10:18 p.m. on November 3, 2026.