Bruce Poliquin

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding me the time, and I thank the chairman for moving this very important piece of legislation through our committee, the Financial Services Committee, and onto the floor. This is a commonsense bill, Mr. Speaker, that I encourage everybody, Republicans and Democrats, to support, H.R. 4566. Throughout the great State of Maine and across America, Mr. Speaker, we have millions and millions of small savers and small investors who are planning for their retirement or for the college education for their kids or their grandkids. The people of Maine, Mr. Speaker, are the most honest and hardworking folks you can find anywhere, and every week thousands and thousands of Maine families are setting aside small parts of their paychecks into an IRA or a 401(k) plan so they will have enough money for their retirement, or setting aside small amounts of money for their son or their daughter to attend a college, a community college, a university, or a technical school. Today, Mr. Speaker, almost 55 percent of all American families, about 100 million of our fellow Americans, entrust these savings to mutual funds and other pension advisers such that they are able to grow and to provide them with a larger nest egg down the road. These asset managers, Mr. Speaker, are currently operating under the uncertainty of whether or not they will be subjected to very costly and, in many cases, unnecessary stress test regulations which are designed for large money center banks with very different functions in our economy. Mr. Speaker, when a bank takes in deposits from its customers, it is obligated to return those deposits and, hopefully, with interest. Now, it is important that those banks have enough reserves to make sure that, during a recession, they are able to meet those obligations. For many of these banks, stress testing does make sense. However, Mr. Speaker, mutual fund and other asset managers perform a very different function. If one invests for their retirement or their college savings, their goal is to grow that nest egg, but it is not guaranteed to be the case by the asset managers who are performing that job. In effect, Mr. Speaker, these asset managers of mutual funds serve as an agent for the investor and the small saver, with no liability to return these savings in full; but, of course, they take the risk for a better return down the road. Now, if you do have a huge money center bank with tentacles running throughout the economy and that bank fails, it could represent a systemic risk to our economy. But investors in a poorly performing mutual fund are simply able to switch their account to a better performing mutual fund house in order for a better return down the road with no systemic risk to the economy, in part, Mr. Speaker, because the assets themselves are held at a bank custodian. They are not even held at the mutual fund company or at the asset management firm. Now, my bill, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4566, exempts most nonbank financial institutions, like mutual funds, from costly stress test requirements. And this, Mr. Speaker, is so important to our small savers across the country because, when you have costly, cumbersome, and unnecessary regulations, they are paid for by the savers in these mutual funds and by these pension fund investors. And when they are paid out of their rate of return, their rates of return drop, and, therefore, the value of their nest eggs drop. Mr. Speaker, government should be in the job of helping our families live better lives with more financial security, and H.R. 4566 helps us do just that by removing one-size-fits-all regulations that fit for lots of banks but not for the asset management community. Today, Mr. Speaker, approximately 4 percent of the expenses of asset managers are for complying with regulations. If we do nothing, that number is expected to go up to 10 percent of their expenses, just on compliance, within 5 years. Now, that makes a big difference because the higher the expenses, the lower the rate of return, the smaller the nest egg for those who are saving for college or for retirement. To give support to my point, Mr. Speaker, for the past 10 years, economists at our own Securities and Exchange Commission and at our own Treasury have not been able to design a stress test for asset managers and for thousands and thousands of mutual fund companies across the country, and that is because it makes no sense to try to do so. Stress testing as a prudential regulation simply does not fit every participant in the United States financial services sector. There are intrinsic differences between banks and asset managers, and my bill, Mr. Speaker, recognizes that difference and properly exempts most nonbank financial institutions from stress tests. That, in turn, again, Mr. Speaker, will lower the cost and increase the rates of return for Main Street investors across our great State of Maine and across America. Mr. Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to address this very important issue, and I encourage everyone, Republicans and Democrats, both sides of the aisle, to please vote ``yes'' for H.R. 4566, Alleviating Stress Test Burdens to Help Investors Act.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, who says that a terrific Representative from one of the most urban areas in the country, Los Angeles, California, cannot get together with a Representative from one of the most rural parts of America up in the great State of Maine? I thank Ranking Member Waters for her extension of bipartisanship. I also thank Chairman Hensarling very much for brokering this. This is going to be a great day for America, a great day for Maine, and a great day for California.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity very much. You notice, Mr. Speaker, those who do not live in the great State of Maine are very envious of those who do; so I take full advantage of the moose, bear, and other critters that we have in the State of Maine. Right now, today, Mr. Speaker, I am talking about H.R. 4263, the Regulation A+ Improvement Act, and I want to congratulate the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. MacArthur) for the great work he has done on this bill, and I want to thank Chairman Hensarling for bringing this bill to the floor. It is very important for all of us to consider this. Now, Mr. Speaker, we all know what we want in this country, which are more opportunities and more jobs for our kids--better opportunities for our kids so they will have better lives and more freedom. This cannot happen, Mr. Speaker, unless our businesses are able to grow and hire more individuals and pay them more. Now, that mostly can only happen, Mr. Speaker, if businesses are able to more easily borrow money. The chairman and I both know that the government's job is to help our economy grow, not get in the way. That is why Reg. A+ cuts through the red tape such that more small- and medium-sized businesses are able to access capital, grow their operations, and hire more people. In a sense, Reg. A+ has implemented, Mr. Speaker, billions of dollars of new financing and has led economic growth in small to medium businesses to grow and present more opportunities for their workers. So Reg. A+ works. We know that because the evidence is there. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by saying, Mr. MacArthur's bill is a commonsense technical adjustment to a bill--a rule, rather, that works. It simply increases the amount that companies are able to borrow under this rule that works. Please, everybody, Republicans and Democrats, support Mr. MacArthur's bill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman very much for helping bring this very important bill to the floor. I also thank Chairman Rob Bishop from Utah, who also was very instrumental in bringing this bill to the floor. In addition to that, I thank all of the staff members of the Natural Resources Committee here in the House for all their great work. This is so important to our State. Mr. Speaker, the great State of Maine is called Vacationland. Now, we have a population of just 1.3 million hardy souls in Maine. However, every year, our population swells to about 40 million vacationers from all over the world. We have such stunning natural beauty in Maine in a pristine natural environment in all these welcoming small towns that it is no wonder that people flock to Maine. Now, right smack in the middle of midcoast Maine is our crown jewel called Acadia National Park, and we just love Acadia National Park in Maine. We are so proud of this. If you happen to vacation in Maine--if you haven't, you and your family deserve a vacation to Maine. If you drive up to Cadillac Mountain, you see this panoramic view of Penobscot Bay, and coming out of those sparkling waters of the Atlantic are these green-topped islands. You might rent a bike and go to these terrific, groomed historic carriage trails that wind through the woods of Acadia. Take your kids down to Sand Beach, right in Acadia National Park, and when their toes hit that ice-cold water, they shriek with joy. This is Maine. We are very proud of Acadia National Park. Mr. Speaker, I do have to say that a couple of years ago, unfortunately, Acadia National Park expanded beyond its boundaries. This is because there was conflict in a couple laws that date back quite some time. Now, I am very happy that my bill that I worked on with great help from my fellow Member of Congress, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree from the First District, clarifies this boundary for Acadia National Park. It also closed a few loopholes but still allows the boundaries to be adjusted in very minor ways with abutting pieces of property. Now, I made it clear, Mr. Speaker, that I would not sign on to this boundary clarification issue until one more thing is done, and that is to protect the livelihoods of hundreds and hundreds of hardworking Mainers who harvest bloodworms, sandworms, clams, and periwinkles along the mud flats around Acadia National Park. Now, those folks who visit Maine from Utah or Kansas and spend a lot of money to come up and vacation in Maine expect to see the great ocean in front of them, Mr. Speaker. But because the Moon revolves around the Earth and the gravitational pull of the Moon causes one of the unique things in Maine, we have big tides. So if you are vacationing in Maine and you find out when you wake up in the morning the water is gone, don't worry about it. Six hours later, it will come back. Now, the ebb and the flow of the tides in Maine along the coastline create what we call the intertidal zone. It is a zone between the high watermark and the low watermark. Now, in the State of Maine, we are very clear that this land is owned by the people of Maine, not by the Federal Government. So I was alarmed a couple of years ago when some of the people called me up and said: Mr. Poliquin, we worked an entire tide, and someone from Acadia National Park didn't understand the rules and asked us to turn over our bucket. Now, we have hundreds and hundreds of families that rely on harvesting in the intertidal zone, and we have to make sure that we have corrected this problem.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Now, this is a clear example of what we call the public trust doctrine. This common-law document, which we adopted from the British ancestors, gives public access to this land between high and low waterlines for the purpose of ``fishing, fowling, and navigation.'' Now, unlike some States, Mr. Speaker, some property owners in Maine own to the low watermark of the tidal range, so this doctrine is incredibly important for the public to have access to our flats for these purposes. This bill that we are passing today codifies the unique ownership and public access rights of Maine fishermen on the intertidal who have worked on this for hundreds of years. Traditional harvesting is meant to include the harvesting of clams and worms, which are harvested by hand with a rake at low tide, and the collection of periwinkles. It also includes accessing intertidal areas by boat at all tides for the purpose of harvesting these species. Now, to be clear, the intent of this bill is for ``traditional harvesting.'' By doing so, this will ensure that our wormers, clammers, and others who live in the area will continue to be able to do what they have been doing for many, many years. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate again Chellie Pingree, my compatriot from the First District who did a great job on this, our staffs, and the staff of the Natural Resources Committee. We extended ourselves, Mr. Speaker, in a bipartisan way to all the stakeholders in the area, including the Acadia Advisory Commission, the Maine Marine Worm Harvesters, the Maine Clammers Association, the National Park Service, the Friends of Acadia, and all those who want to make this right for the boundary of Acadia National Park forever to be cemented in law. At the same time, we protect the livelihood of some of the hardest working people you will ever find in this country, Mr. Speaker. These individuals will rake and dig for these worms in the summertime, in the hot weather, and in the wintertime when the snow is blowing sideways. Mr. Speaker, I encourage everybody to vote for this bill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for moving this very important package of bills through the Financial Services Committee and now to the floor. Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate a terrific Congressman from the State of Arkansas (Mr. Hill) for the great work he has done in reconstituting the TRID Improvement Act. This bill, Madam Speaker, is designed to help our homeowners or would-be homeowners go through the process comfortably and efficiently, and also help our financial professionals who help them, in turn, to secure residential mortgages. This bill, as has been noted earlier, Madam Speaker, passed with very strong bipartisan support, and I encourage everybody on the floor, Republicans and Democrats, to weigh in with a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 3978. Now, Madam Speaker, Mr. Hill's bill has two very important pieces that help our families and also help our economy grow. First, in title I, section 101, this bill allows title insurance companies to accurately disclose the premiums they charge for their service and also the discounts that are available to our home buyers across the country. Right now, the CFPB does not allow such disclosures, which is unfair and confusing for our home buyers. Madam Speaker, secondly, in title V, section 501, this bill includes the Eliminating Barriers to Jobs for Loan Originators Act, of which I am proudly a cosponsor. This bill, Madam Speaker, allows mortgage loan officers at a bank to move to do the same work at a nonbank financial institution without sometimes waiting weeks or months for redundant and unnecessary relicensing. Now, that is just not fair, Madam Speaker, to the folks who are trying to help our families secure mortgages so they can move into a new place to work. I encourage everybody on both sides of the aisle to support this excellent bill. It is bipartisan. Again, I congratulate the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), and I salute our chairman for moving this so quickly through the process.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Madam Speaker, Downeast Maine, along the Canadian border, is one of the most stunningly beautiful parts of the world, but, sadly, it is also one of the poorest. During the past 30 years, Madam Speaker, most of our paper mills in Maine have closed because of high taxes, harmful regulations, unfair trade, and a declining demand for paper. However, Madam Speaker, the Woodland Pulp and tissue mill is doing quite well: 500 well-paying jobs with benefits, the largest private sector employer in Washington County, in Downeast Maine. Today, Madam Speaker, the Federal Government has a chance to help. Since 1836, the Woodland mill has managed an upriver Forest City water storage dam to make sure the river and the lake levels in the area are properly maintained, and this makes sure that the fragile and world- class salmon and bass fisheries are protected. But now, Madam Speaker, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is demanding that the Woodland mill spend $6 million on a fish ladder and other requirements in order to renew its license. But the dam already has a fish ladder that works fine, and it does not generate any electricity for the mill, and it cannot afford the $6 million price tag for these unnecessary requirements. Now, the Maine Legislature, Madam Speaker, has already voted to allow Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to assume control of the dam to make sure this wildlife habitat and the property owners are protected and that the mill can continue to prosper without these undue and unnecessary regulations. Madam Speaker, I ask today, right now, that FERC do what is right and allow the transfer of the ownership of this dam from the mill to the State of Maine, which solves this critically important problem in one of the poorest areas of the country.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Town of Mexico, Maine. Mexico is a small mill town, full of hardworking Mainers with a strong, community-minded spirit. Since its settlement in 1780 and incorporation as a town on February 13, 1818, Mexico has proved to be a friendly and welcoming town, supporting and fostering freedom and independence. The name ``Mexico'' flows from its residents' admiration for the country of Mexico, and its struggle and separation from Spanish domination. An active military town, Mexico sent over 80 of its very own to fight with the Union Army during the Civil War. Notable individuals such as Chummy Broomhall, a World War II soldier, American cross country skier. and Olympian, and the Hon. Charles Walton, former Maine lawyer and United States Congressman hail from Mexico, Maine. Today, the legacy of these and other honorable citizens thrives in Mexico. It is a growing town, hosting a branch of the University of Maine system, a technology school, and an adult learning center. Countless convenience stores, mini malls, and more are becoming increasingly common in the town. Each year, Mexico's ponds, lakes, golf courses, and ski areas attract hundreds of tourists to the area and showcase some of Maine's best natural resources and beauty. We are so proud to have Mexico in the heart of our Great State of Maine, and I am honored to serve in the United States Congress on behalf of its citizens. The town is a great place to live, work, play, and raise a family. As we celebrate Mexico's Bicentennial, we look forward to many more years of tradition and vibrant growth in the town. Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing the 200th anniversary of the Town of Mexico, Maine, and wishing its residents the very best in the years to come.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to salute Chellie Pingree, my cosponsor on this bill, H.R. 2504, for the great work that she has done and that we have done together. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that the job of government is to help our families, to help our small businesses, such that the kids and the young adults in Maine can stay in our State, such that they can raise their families and have a wonderful life. The best part of the world is in the State of Maine. Now, Ms. Pingree represents the southern part of our coast, Mr. Speaker, the southern half, from Camden down to Kittery. I represent the downeast part of our coast, from Lincolnville up to Eastport. Now, in the downeast part of our coast, mostly we are the folks that dive for the sea urchins and cucumbers. These are little critters that are delicacies in the Far East. We might not eat them here in Washington, but they are delicacies in the Far East. And in Chellie's district, the southern part of the coast, they process these critters. Mr. Speaker, this is very dangerous work. The folks that harvest these sea urchins and cucumbers strap on tanks and go into deep, dark, cold waters off the coast of Maine, and they are doing a great job getting this product to market. This product is incredibly perishable, so it is very important to get them from the bottom of the sea floor in coastal Maine onto their boats, down to Portland where they are processed in Ms. Pingree's district, and then onto a truck, down to JFK, get them on a plane, and get them to the Far East and sell as many of these critters as is humanly possible. This is where the problem comes in. As Ms. Pingree said, we already inspect this perishable delicacy in Maine. We do not need, Mr. Speaker, a second set of regulations that inspect them down in New York. And God forbid that it is on a holiday and folks don't show up to inspect them. What happens to this very perishable product? It sits in a warehouse on a tarmac where it is exposed to things that would cause them to go bad. So we need to do commonsense Maine stuff here, which is to eliminate overregulation. We already inspect this product in Maine. We don't need to do it again down on a tarmac in New York. Mr. Speaker, I encourage everybody, Republicans and Democrats, to work the way Chellie and I have on this, in a bipartisan manner, to make sure our families in Maine have an opportunity to dive for sea cucumbers and sea urchins and get them to market as quickly as possible. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for giving me the time to speak on this; I thank Ms. Pingree for the same. I really appreciate leadership moving this through the floor here. I hope we have a very big, bipartisan, unanimous vote on this, because it is commonsense Maine. It is the right thing to do. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Pingree. I appreciate her work on this. Congratulations.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Tipton for managing the floor today on this important bill. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Hensarling, for moving this very important bill, H.R. 2255, through the committee and on to the House floor. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate and thank Mr. Trott, a terrific representative from the State of Michigan, for all of his work on this bill to help families and charitable organizations throughout our country. Mr. Speaker, the great State of Maine that I represent, the rural part of our State, has the oldest average age in the country. We love our seniors. I know not only in Maine, but across the country, they are very special parts of our society. My parents are 89 and 87. I am very involved in their lives, especially in their healthcare. I worry, Mr. Speaker, about our seniors. I worry about their healthcare. I worry about their safety. And one more thing I worry about, Mr. Speaker, is about them becoming victims of financial scams. Now, this happens throughout our country, and has increasingly so, such that, today, almost $3 billion is the result of scamming our seniors every single year. I will tell you, these con men, Mr. Speaker, become very creative. In particular, one type of scam that I have learned about just absolutely hits me home. A grandmother receives an email from, supposedly, a granddaughter, and this granddaughter is stuck overseas in a country where she has been traveling. She is emailing her grandmother, saying: ``Gram, I need money. I am in trouble. Can you please wire $10,000 to this bank account in this country so I can get home? And, by the way, please don't tell mom and dad.'' Mr. Speaker, can you imagine the confusion and the heartache that grandparents would have receiving this sort of email? Well, the good news, Mr. Speaker, is that the Senior Safe Act, which I authored here in the House, along with Ms. Sinema, is embedded in Mr. Trott's bill, H.R. 2255. This bill, the Senior Safe Act--now part of Mr. Trott's bill--will help stop financial scams of seniors before they happen.

Mr. POLIQUIN. It is a commonsense bill, Mr. Speaker, such that if a bank teller speaks to one of his or her customers they have known for maybe decades, and the senior says, ``I would like to close my account and wire the proceeds overseas,'' this bank teller can stop, pause, call the authorities, and say, ``We might have a problem here, Mr. Smith, so let's get back to you on that,'' and the teller can do this without retribution from our privacy laws. Mr. Speaker, I ask everybody, Republicans and Democrats, men and women, to please support H.R. 2255, which the Senior Safe Act is embedded in.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, all businesses in America, large and small, should be fairly and predictably regulated, including those companies in the financial services industry. Now, Mr. Speaker, when the real estate market collapsed in 2008, Washington did what it does often. It overreacted by imposing smothering layers of new regulations on small community banks, credit unions, and retirement advisers, when it should, Mr. Speaker, have focused its attention on eight or nine large, major money center banks that have tentacles that run throughout our economy. Mr. Speaker, the goal of Dodd-Frank was to increase regulations on financial institutions that could bring down the economy if they got in trouble. Now, the problem, Mr. Speaker, is that this regulatory net was cast so wide, it caught our small community banks and credit unions in having to deal with costly, unnecessary, and redundant regulations. I travel the State of Maine, Mr. Speaker, and meet with our small financial institutions. They tell me: Bruce, we are spending so much time and money hiring compliance officers to deal with these regulations instead of loan officers to make sure we get money out to our families and our small businesses can borrow and grow. God forbid, Mr. Speaker, that the Bangor Savings Bank or the Maine Family Federal Credit Union in Lewiston gets into trouble. If they do, they will not bring down this economy. Why in the world should they be imposing or have to deal with this additional layer of regulations as they are designated as a SIFI? Mr. Luetkemeyer's bill is a terrific bill. It is common sense. It is bipartisan. It will require the Federal Reserve to finally factor in the role and the function of these financial institutions in the economy, instead of arbitrarily based on assets. This means, Mr. Speaker, that our community banks and our pension advisers, our retirement advisers and credit unions will be able to focus on growing the economy and extending credit so our families can get a home mortgage, maybe buy another automobile, or maybe one of the lobstermen can get a new diesel put in their boat for the season. The is a good bill, Mr. Speaker. I am grateful that Mr. Luetkemeyer introduced H.R. 3312. I encourage everybody on both sides of the aisle to help American businesses and families by supporting this bill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I speak today and rise in support of the rule for H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Hensarling also for moving this very important bipartisan piece of legislation through the House Financial Services Committee. Additionally, I want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who supported my bill last year. Unfortunately, it got stuck in the Senate, so we are doing it over again this year in the House. Mr. Speaker, the primary responsibility of every Member of Congress is to help keep our families safe. Embedded with that promise is to support and defend our Constitution. Mr. Speaker, moms and dads in Maine and across America are increasingly alarmed by the frequency of terrorist attacks here at home, with another attempted attack 2 days ago in New York City. Mr. Speaker, today, there are 1,000 ongoing investigations of terrorist activity by the FBI in all 50 States. Mr. Speaker, that is why H.R. 1638 is so important. It is a commonsense bill that will help keep our families safe and free. In doing so, we should never make this a political issue. Mr. Speaker, the Iranian Government is one of the chief sponsors of terrorism and instability throughout the world. Their senior political and military leaders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps train, arm, and fund terrorist organizations around the world. They have become experts at using the internet and social media to radicalize, to recruit, and to direct terrorist attacks around the globe, including here in the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, the Iranian Government has American blood on its hands. Now, there are approximately 70 to 80 top political and military leaders in Iran that control about one-third of its entire economy. They use their power to corrupt the telecommunications, the construction, and other important industries in that country. A recent investigation by Reuters found that the Supreme Leader in Iran alone has accumulated tremendous personal wealth through a foundation claiming to help the poor. So while the corruption has grown, the average Iranian citizen earns the equivalent of $15,000 per year.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, the citizens of Iran and the people of the world should know how much wealth has been accumulated by these chief sponsors of terrorism and what the money is being used for. Companies across the globe looking to possibly do business with Iran should also understand what they are dealing with before they invest. That is why my Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act is a straightforward, main, commonsense bill. It simply requires the U.S. Treasury Department to collect, to maintain, and to post online the list of these 70 or 80 senior political and military leaders in Iran, their personal assets, and how that money was acquired and what it is being used for. My bill requires the Treasury Department to post this information on their website in English as well as the three major languages that are used and spoken, rather, in Iran: Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri. The information should be available, easily downloaded, and shared by everyone who wants to see this. Mr. Speaker, I might also add that this information comes from publicly available sources. It is not classified information. Now, I have heard folks say: Well, this is not a good idea to expose the Iranian Government's corruption in their funding of terrorism, because, if you do, we might not be able to work with these people. Are you kidding me? These are the radicals who regularly chant ``Death to America.'' It doesn't make sense to hope that they will abandon their support for terrorism by not shedding light on their corruption. Mr. Speaker, hope is not a national security strategy. My bill helps make sure Congress gets its priorities straight when it comes to this issue. Protecting American families here at home and helping to safeguard our troops overseas, where they are fighting for our freedom, is the right thing to do. Mr. Speaker, so let's use one click of a computer from any corner of the globe to help expose the illicit activities of the chief sponsor of terrorism in this world. Secrecy and corruption breed more terrorism by governments like those in Iran. Let us stand up, Mr. Speaker, for every peace-loving nation around this world, and let's stand up to protect our families here at home. Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate the time and the consideration. Please vote ``yes'' for H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on behalf of my bill, and I am grateful to you for moving this very important bipartisan bill through the House Financial Services Committee. I also want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who supported this bill last year. Unfortunately, it got stuck in the Senate, so we have got to do it again this year, but I am thrilled to be here. Mr. Chairman, the primary responsibility of every Member of Congress, whether you are on the left side or the right side of the aisle, no matter what State you are from, what part of the country you are from, the major responsibility, the primary responsibility is to support and defend our Constitution. To me, that means protecting our families and those American citizens abroad. Now, our moms and dads in Maine, Mr. Chairman, and across this country, are increasingly alarmed by the frequency of terrorist attacks here at home; another attempted 2 days ago in New York City. Today, Mr. Chairman, there are 1,000 investigations dealing with terrorist activities across this land in all 50 States. That is why H.R. 1638 is so important. This bill will help keep our families safe and keep them free. In doing so, we must make sure this issue is not a political issue. National security never should be a political issue. Mr. Chairman, the Iranian Government, as Mr. Hensarling just mentioned, is the chief state sponsor of terrorism and instability in this world. These senior political leaders and their military leaders, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they train, they arm, and they fund terrorist organizations around the world. They have become experts at using the internet and social media to radicalize, recruit, and direct terrorists around the globe, including here in the United States of America. Mr. Chairman, the Iranian Government has American blood on its hands. Now, Mr. Chairman, there are approximately 70 to 80 top political and military leaders in Iran that control about one-third of their domestic economy. They use their power to corrupt the telecommunications industry, the construction industry, and other important ones in that land. Reuters has conducted an investigation through publicly available information that found the Supreme Leader of Iran alone has accumulated tremendous personal wealth through a foundation claiming to help the poor. Now, while the corruption has grown in Iran, the average citizen there earns the equivalent of $15,000 per year. Mr. Chairman, the citizens of Iran and the people of this world should know how much wealth has been accumulated by those that sponsor terrorism and what that money is being used for. Companies across the globe that are looking to do business with Iran should understand what they might be getting into. So I disagree with my colleague from California, the ranking member, who says that this is going to possibly create confusion; that it will possibly cause businesses around the world to hesitate from investing in Iran. Well, guess what, Mr. Chairman. That is a good idea. My Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act is a straightforward, main, commonsense bill. It simply requires the Department of Treasury to collect, to maintain, and to post online the list of these 70 to 80 senior political and military leaders and the assets, their personal assets, how this money was acquired, and what it is being used for. As Mr. Hensarling mentioned, it will require the Treasury Department to post this on their website in English as well as in Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri, the three languages that are mostly used in that country. I might also add that my colleague on the other side of the aisle might be a little bit confused about this issue, but the information posted on this website will be that that is publicly available. There will be no information that should not be posted there that only Congress should have access to. I have heard, Mr. Chairman, critics of this bill saying: Well, you know, it is not a good idea to expose the Iranian Government's corruption in funding of terrorism because, if you do so, well, the Iranian political and military leaders might not want to work with us. Are you kidding? These are the radicals who regularly chant ``Death to America.''

Mr. POLIQUIN. Hoping that these folks also abandon their support of terrorism by not shedding light on their corruption doesn't make any sense. Hope, Mr. Chairman, is not a national security strategy. My bill makes sure that Congress gets its priorities straight. Protecting American families here at home and safeguarding our troops around the world who are fighting for our freedom is what we should be doing every way we can, and that is what this bill does. Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that using one click of a computer from any corner of the globe to help expose illicit activities by the chief state sponsor of terrorism is a very, very good idea. Let's stand up for all the peace-loving nations in the world. Let's stand up to help our families protect their kids. Let's stand up to protect our homeland. I ask everyone, Republicans and Democrats, please vote ``yes'' for H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, to the gentlewoman from California and to the other side of the aisle, I do want to make sure I make a few things clear. First of all, I am not sure if it was the gentlewoman or someone else saying: Why in the dickens would we divert resources away from fighting terrorism to post this information on the Treasury website? It costs too much. Well, with all due respect, the CBO estimates it will cost $500,000 to do this for 2 years. The United States Treasury Department has a budget of $14 billion per year. That is number one.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, the dangerous Iran nuclear deal that was put together a year and a half or 2 years ago has absolutely nothing to do with exposing the wealth that has cumulated through corruption by the top 70 to 80 Iranian political and military leaders and posting that for the world to see. I am sure the ranking member knows this has zero to do with the Iran nuclear deal.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I did want to respond to the gentlewoman from California and to other folks who are on the other side of this bill. First of all, I think it is very clear to the world that the Iranian Government has been cheating on the nuclear deal almost since day one. I think it was within months, Mr. Chairman, that they test-fired both medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles, in violation of an 8- year ban on developing those conventional weapons. So I think it is kind of silly for us to be debating here about a government that sponsors terrorism and vows to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth and kill as many Americans as they can, as a leadership regime that is going to abide by this agreement when they have proven they are not. Second of all, as I have mentioned several times, my bill has nothing to do with this agreement. But, then again, someone on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Chairman, also said: Well, we think American officials, American leaders, should be responsible for disclosing that. Well, here is the difference: America does not sponsor terrorism. The Iranian Government does. That is exactly what we are trying to get at, Mr. Chairman. I am trying to understand what folks who will not support this bill are going to say when they go back home at Christmastime, when they had an opportunity to shed sunlight on the top political and military leaders in Iran who are ripping off the Iranian people and who are sponsoring terrorism, why it is a bad idea to make sure this information is public to the world as well as to the Iranian people. I would like to understand what they are going to say when they go back home and talk to their constituents. Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this opportunity. This is a terrific bill. It does something very common sense: put pressure through sunlight, through transparency, on the chief sponsor of terrorism in the world--the Iranian regime.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, can the gentlewoman repeat the question again? I didn't understand it.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, the missiles that I was referring to are very clear to the gentlewoman from California. They deal specifically with the Iran nuclear deal, which is a dangerous deal for this world and for this country. It has nothing to do with any issue dealing with North Korea.

Mr. POLIQUIN. What difference does that have to do with the---- Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I will tell Mr. Poliquin what difference it makes. Here we are with threats from North Korea and the President of the United States unwilling to be involved with diplomacy, who, rather, would like to basically mimic and mock the leader of North Korea by calling him ``Little Rocket Man,'' and by telling the Secretary of State: Don't talk to him. It is no use to talk with him. So here we have North Korea, who has already indicated that they have missiles that will reach us right here in the United States, anywhere in the United States, and Mr. Poliquin is telling me about his concern about missiles in Iran that are not a part of the nuclear deal. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.