Bruce Poliquin

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join loving family members, dear friends and the entire Skowhegan community in recognizing the 100th birthday of Kirby Hight. I am honored to extend birthday greetings on this truly special occasion. I congratulate Mr. Hight on this major milestone but also express profound gratitude for his valiant service to our Nation as a proud member of the United States Navy. We are forever grateful and humbled by his heroism and selflessness during World War II as a Captain of one of our naval destroyers. Upon returning to Maine after the war, he continued to give back to his community. He developed a successful family business, gave his time to the local Rotary Club and served as a member on the board of the Skowhegan Fair Association and Redington Fairview Hospital, not to mention the numerous local causes his late wife, Grace, and he supported. The fantastic turnout expected for his birthday celebration will be but a small testament to the magnificent impact his hard work and unwavering generosity has had on his family, community and country. Happy 100th Birthday to Mr. Hight--I wish him many more years of continued good health and happiness. May we all be so lucky to live such a long and meaningful life. God Bless America and God Bless you, Mr. Hight.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to salute the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) for the great work that they have done on this bill. It is very important. Mr. Speaker, I represent Maine's Second District, which is the west, central, northern, and down east parts of our great State. Now, when you drive in the State of Maine over some of our roads this winter, you see frost heaves and potholes and everything else. If you go on some of our bridges by the coast, you see there has been a lot of corrosiveness that has taken place on those bridges because they are so close to the salt water. Now, it is so important to make sure that our State and our local governments have the opportunity to borrow the money they need to perform these very important infrastructure repairs. When I was State Treasurer up in Maine, we used this process to sell high-quality, liquid municipal bonds to investors around the world. That would allow us to receive and secure the funding we need to, in fact, repair our roads and bridges. Maybe a small town needs to improve its sewage treatment facility or build a new landfill or improve its water treatment facility. Well, these high-quality, liquid municipal bonds provide the funds to do just that. It is my opinion that banking regulators have made a mistake, Mr. Speaker, because they include in the liquidity coverage ratio stocks and corporate bonds and other government bonds, but they have left out high-quality liquid, tax-free municipal bonds from that list of securities that will qualify for the liquidity coverage ratio. As has been mentioned here earlier before, sir, the municipal bond market in this country is a $3.7 trillion market. There are thousands of these bonds held in the hands of investors around the world. It is clearly right and appropriate for these bonds to be included in this list of assets such that banks can reach their liquidity coverage ratio. In doing that, Mr. Speaker, and in fixing this problem that Mr. Messer and Congresswoman Maloney have found, in passing H.R. 2209, State and local governments across the country will continue to be able to have the funds they need to repair their own bridges and roads, not just those in Maine. This will keep interest payments down for our State and local governments, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. One of the goals of government, of course, is to show fairness and compassion for those that pay the bills, the taxpayers across America. I am rising in support of this bill, H.R. 2209. I encourage all my colleagues in the House, Republicans and Democrats, to please do the same. Again, I congratulate the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) for their great work.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Garrett for bringing this very important bill to the floor. I also want to extend my congratulations to Congressman Juan Vargas of California. He has done a terrific job being the lead cosponsor of the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act. All of us in this Chamber who also are small-business owners understand how important it is to have access to money, to funds, to capital, in order for our businesses to be successful, to grow, and ultimately to hire more people. This is true in Maine's Second District that I represent and also across the country. It is all about jobs. Unless your business grows and expands, then you don't have jobs. So it is very, very important to have that key ingredient to small-business growth, which is access to capital or to money. Now, if you are one of the greatest papermakers in the world--and we have a lot, Mr. Speaker, up in Maine's Second District--and you work for a paper company up in Madawaska, Maine, or Madison, Maine, you still depend on your company--it might not be a small company--to make sure you have access to the stock and bond markets, to be able to borrow the funds they need to expand and be successful, and to make sure we can secure your job. Now, if you are a small-business owner, which really dominates the landscape in Maine and across the country--let's say you are a boatbuilder in Ellsworth, Maine--you still need access to capital in order to grow. If you are a biotech startup company in Lewiston, Maine, the same holds true. You know, 80 percent of the new jobs created in our country today are not large companies, but they are small companies. That is where the problem lies as far as access to funding is concerned. I am not worried as much about the big companies having access to the capital markets, but I do worry about our small businesses. Now, as both Mr. Carney and Mr. Garrett have mentioned, during each of the past 35 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission, by law, has been required and has put together an annual government-business forum. During this annual meeting, they get the most experienced professionals they can find--businessowners, SEC attorneys, private sector attorneys--to review the current laws we have on the books today to make sure they are not impeding our small businesses' ability to borrow money and have access to capital in other ways. Now, these forums also are a tremendous incubator of coming up with new ideas to make sure our laws evolve. Our capital markets, Mr. Speaker, in our economy are very dynamic. Businesses grow and they change, and new products are offered and sold. So there are new needs for capital going forward. We have to make sure that the actual laws that are the underpinning of our capital markets, the underpinning of our economy, also evolve. So these annual business-government forums are very important venues for this to happen. Now, as has been said here earlier, unfortunately, the SEC has no legal requirement to make sure all the terrific recommendations that come out of these annual forums are acted upon or not. In fact, it is very common for the SEC not to comment at all on all of the work done to bring these new ideas to the forefront. So my legislation, I am proud to say, comes up with a very commonsense fix. It simply requires the SEC to make a public statement on what it is going to do to embrace these recommended changes or not. It is very simple. Otherwise, these ideas, Mr. Speaker, sit on the shelf. Now, my bill also has the ancillary benefit of making sure that each new forum each year doesn't repeat what we just did the year before. By having a benchmark every year, by addressing the recommendations that come out of these meetings, then we are able to spring forward and move down the path where we left off the year before. I want to thank the Speaker and the chairman very much for bringing this important bill to the floor. I am delighted to work with Mr. Vargas on this. He has done one heck of a job. It is so important for everybody in this Chamber to please stand up for small businesses across the country, to make sure they have access to the money they need to grow, be successful, and hire more workers. It is all about jobs.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman. I don't think it much matters if you are a man or you are a woman, but you serve in the United States military. Anybody who has stood up for this country to protect our freedom, protect our way of life, protect our kids, they should receive the full benefits, the full honors of anybody who served in uniform. Now, tonight, as Congresswoman McSally said, we can fix this. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why the Pentagon should, for some reason, say there is no room at Arlington. Are you kidding me? Over 1,000 of these brave, patriotic women, during a time where, as Congresswoman McSally and Congresswoman Davis mentioned, they were not always welcomed in doing what men were doing, they stood up, they stood up and they left their homes and they left their families. They did what was right. They served this country with honor, with dignity. They flew 78 different types of aircraft all over the world. Over 60 million miles were logged. Look at this picture. I salute you, Congresswoman, for bringing this before us. Now, do you think any of these WASPs were saying, ``Well, I don't know, we just can't get this done, we just can't perform this mission, I am sorry''? Well, the Pentagon needs to step up right now. They need to find a way to make sure, if these WASPs want to be interred at Arlington, they should be. Now, some of the missions that these brave women flew on included transporting these vehicles all around the world. You know what they also did? They towed targets for men on the ground that were practicing artillery. Did you hear one of these WASPs complain, ``Gee, I hope that these men will hit the targets instead of us''? The least the Pentagon can do is to take this seriously, listen to the will of the people, and make sure that these brave women are so honored by being interred, if they wish, at Arlington. Now, one of these humble American heroes is a woman by the name of Betty Anne Brown, who very recently passed away at age 92. Now, wouldn't she be proud of all of us today standing up and asking that our country, that the Pentagon does the right thing? I salute Ms. McSally for her leadership on this issue. The Pentagon can do what is right today. As you mentioned, Congresswoman, legislation is not needed if our Commander in Chief or the folks who run the Pentagon stand up and do what is right. These women deserve every right to be buried at Arlington if they so wish. Thank you very much, and I am honored to cosponsor this bill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, sadly, every year in America, more than 20,000 babies are born addicted to drugs. Last year alone, nearly 1,000 of those babies were born in Maine. We can help these babies by passing H.R. 3865, the Cradle Act, of which I am proud to be an original cosponsor. Eighty percent of addicted infants are covered by Medicaid and treated at local hospitals; however, our hospitals are overwhelmed. They are not equipped to provide the specialized care that these babies desperately need to recover from the drugs in their tiny bodies. Residential pediatric recovery centers are designed and professionally staffed to provide this critically important early clinical care. These centers depend on Medicaid dollars to stay open, but need clear certification guidelines in order to receive those funds. The Cradle Act does that. Every baby born into this world deserves our compassion and care. This is an opportunity to help the most vulnerable among us. This bill offers real hope for a healthy, safe, and loving start for thousands of American babies born addicted to drugs.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the great State of Maine is blessed with natural resources. We have 3,000 miles of breathtaking coastline. We have healthy fisheries. We have an abundance of inland waterways, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds, and we have an abundance of water as a result. We have potatoes and broccoli in our farming communities, and our landscape is dotted with small organic farms that continue to grow. And, most importantly, or as importantly, Maine is right in the middle of the country's wood basket. Now, Mr. Chairman, when you cut a strand of trees, one can leave behind the branches and the bark for that matter to decompose and become part of the carbon cycle, or that bark and branches and chips can be collected and transported to paper mills to burn energy or to burn to create energy to run the machinery to create paper, or they can be trucked to power plants to produce electricity. Now, when this happens, it is the same carbon footprint if that biomass decays on the forest floor or if it is burned in a paper mill or an electric generating station. This creates jobs, Mr. Chairman, for loggers and truckers, and also we help fuel our State economy and our Nation's economy by using this renewable, green, abundant, safe, homegrown biomass. Many States, Mr. Chairman, have shifted away from foreign importation of oil for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is national security. And, today, throughout our country, we are using more natural gas and oil developed here in our country, in America--also nuclear power, hydro, and biomass. Today, Mr. Chairman, Federal regulations allow electric utilities to determine the reliability of the source of fuel they are burning to create electricity. Part of that reliability equation is the length of a contract to deliver that fuel source to the power plant. If the reliability of that fuel source is not up to snuff, then that fuel source would result in electricity generated by that power plant not having full access to the power grid and not being able to sell its product, electricity, to the economy. Some sources of fuel, like coal, for example, Mr. Chairman, are usually sold in 2- or 3-year contracts. The reason for that is because coal today is mostly used to generate electricity. However, biomass is different. We can use branches and wood chips and bark and biomass that includes other organic materials to create pellets that are burned in wood stoves or to create mulch that gardeners use or also to create plywood and other materials. As a result, Mr. Chairman, biomass as a fuel source is usually sold in 1- year increments. This bill, H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, where I am offering an amendment, Mr. Chairman, is a small technical amendment but a very important one, because what it does is it puts all fuel sources on a level playing field, able to compete in the market, such that biomass--a green, renewable, environmentally friendly, homegrown source of fuel for our electric generators--is not penalized. This is good for the economy, Mr. Chairman. It is good for job creation. It strengthens our national security because it diversifies the fuel sources that we need to fuel and power our electric generators that are used in creating jobs and creating products throughout our country. As a result, Mr. Chairman, I ask everybody in this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats, today to support this commonsense amendment to help our State, to help our country, to help our economy, and to help our families live better lives.

Mr. POLIQUIN. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. POLIQUIN. I thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. In addition to that, Machias Savings Bank may have known your family for 50 years. Now, on top of this, Mr. Speaker, the bank takes all the risk. They own the load. So, God forbid, if a storm comes up and sinks your traps and your boat in the harbor and you can't make those loan payments, there is no risk to the market because the bank owns the loan. I ask everybody, Mr. Speaker, to stand up and show compassion for the folks around this country who want to buy a home and do qualify for these loans.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I am still scratching my head. I am still scratching my head at some of the folks on the other side of the aisle. I have no idea why they do not want to help those folks that are less fortunate than others in this country. This is an opportunity, Mr. Speaker, for all of us in this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats, to step forward and show some compassion for folks that want to live in their own home. I urge all of my colleagues right here today to support H.R. 1210, and I salute Mr. Barr from Kentucky for the hard work that he did to put this Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act together. I also thank Chairman Hensarling for his leadership in bringing this out of the committee and to the floor. I enjoy, Mr. Speaker, traveling through my Second District in Maine, the most beautiful part of the world, and I love talking to our small credit unions and community banks. I talk to the folks up at the Maine Family Credit Union in Lewiston or the Bangor Savings Bank, and they tell me how difficult it is to navigate through this huge, complex, 2,300-page Dodd-Frank law that is preventing them from lending money to families who are creditworthy and who deserve these loans. One specific part of the Dodd-Frank law, Mr. Barr's bill addresses. It is called the qualified mortgage rule, or QM. This is a one-size- fits-all rule that does not work for many of the families in Maine. Now, let's say you are a lobster fisherman in the down east part of our State and you want to borrow money from the Machias Savings Bank to buy a new home because you have a couple of new kids and you need a new bathroom, but your monthly income, Mr. Speaker, may vary depending on when you set your traps, when you pull your traps, and when you sell your catch to a dealer. Now, what the regulators want is they want to see a smooth, equal 12 mortgage payments to repay that loan; but that might not be the case, Mr. Speaker, because your job doesn't work that way.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members of our House today to join me in support of H.R. 2800, the Pregnancy Discrimination Amendment Act. This important piece of legislation expands upon existing law to help protect pregnant women from workplace discrimination, and I am proud to be a cosponsor. Women account for nearly half of the workforce in our country, so it is particularly hard to believe, in today's society, women are still denied jobs or lose their jobs because they are pregnant. Every time this happens to a mom, it hurts her, it hurts her family, and it hurts our economy. We must ensure that hardworking moms and moms-to-be are protected from unfair employment decisions. As a society, we should encourage and support all workers. We should help ensure that moms and dads are physically and financially healthy and secure as they approach parenthood. As a single father myself, who raised my son from the time he was in diapers, I know firsthand how important it is to have a support system. That includes a supportive work environment where soon-to-be parents are not worried about being fired or about being overlooked for jobs or promotions because they have decided to have children.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, Maine is home to the greatest mariners in the world, and Maine Maritime Academy in midcoast Castine is one of the finest schools in the world to train our ship captains, engineers, and navigators. Last week, the cargo ship El Faro succumbed to Hurricane Joaquin en route from Florida to Puerto Rico. During this horrible tragedy, 33 individuals likely perished, including five graduates of Maine Maritime Academy. Captain Michael Davidson was 53, Second Mate Danielle Randolph was 34, Michael Holland was 25, Mitchell Kuflik was 26, and Dylan Meklin was 23. Mr. Speaker, some were married, some had kids. One was engaged, and one was on his maiden voyage. All of these individuals were children of moms and dads. The great State of Maine and our country is so proud of our brave mariners and grateful for them helping us live better lives. I know I speak, Mr. Speaker, for the entire Congress in extending our thoughts and prayers for their families. May God rest their souls and let them remain mariners forever.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I am thrilled to stand before the House today as the author of the Child Support Assistance Act, H.R. 2091. Across America today we have 17 million kids coast to coast who benefit from the child support program. In our great State of Maine alone, there are some 57,000 kids who need our help. As a single parent myself, I believe that the most important job in the world is taking care of our kids. Unfortunately, not every parent believes that. After a court determines that a noncustodial parent owes financial support for his or her children, there currently is, as Mrs. Maloney stated, a 10-day waiting period between the time when the court determines that money is owed for the kids and when the State agencies can start collecting that money. As a result, here across America there is about $100 billion in unpaid child support. In the State of Maine alone, there is over $500 million that is owed our kids. This bill, H.R. 2091, the Child Support Assistance Act, fixes a technical part of this law that is a commonsense fix. As Mrs. Maloney stated, it removes this 10-day waiting period. Now, what that simply means is that a parent who is supposed to be responsible for his or her children will have less of an opportunity, less time to shift those assets or hide those assets, put them in the name of someone else or maybe even quit his or her job and be paid under the table. That is not right, and that is certainly not fair. We need in this Chamber Republicans and Democrats to stand up and be compassionate and to help those 17 million kids across our country that need this support. As a single parent myself, I know what it is like to work a demanding full-time job and to care for a child. In my case, it was one child, my son. I know what it is like to pick up my son after school and then to rush off to the grocery store to do our shopping and get home quickly so I can start dinner and he can start working on his homework. When that is done, we have to clean up and I expect Sammy to do his reading or I read to him and then it is a bath and to bed. Then while you are working on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the next day and thinking about what you have to do with your own job, you get a few hours' sleep after that before you have to do it all over again. I cannot imagine, Mr. Speaker, what it must be like for a single mom or dad to do this with two, three, or four kids. The last thing our single parents need is to worry about child support payments that they are rightly owed, that the court says they are due, to help their kids have food on the table or buy a new pair of winter boots or to make sure there is lunch money the next day. In this Chamber, Mr. Speaker, we speak about a lot of things--debt and spending and national security issues--but this bill is so close to the ground that it directly and immediately will help our kids and our single parents who are trying to raise our kids under very difficult circumstances for a lot of them. I am thrilled to offer this bill, Mr. Speaker. I am greatly appreciative of the tremendous bipartisan support. I do thank Mr. Ellison for all of his hard work on this bill. I encourage everybody to please support the Child Support Assistance Act.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I'm humbled by the opportunity to honor and welcome home our Vietnam Era Heroes to Northern Maine and take part in Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Day. I thank The County Vietnam Veterans, and their families, for the sacrifices they made to protect our freedoms and special way of life. The memory of their heroics will inspire Maine generations to come. One of my true joys has been connecting with thousands of our Maine Veterans. I have had the honor to meet our local heroes from the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and in many more settings. Their patriotism, commitment to duty, humility and camaraderie inspire my own public service. In June, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, I had the privilege to help properly recognize and welcome home 1,000 of our Vietnam Veterans. It was an emotional gathering for our heroes who did all that was asked of them and served our Country with honor, but did not receive their due gratitude and respect from millions of Americans when they returned home. Our courageous servicemen in The County, Bangor, and throughout the state of Maine deserve our absolute and unwavering gratitude. I stand with your fellow Mainers in thanks for all that you have given to our Country. We will never forget your bravery.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I'm honored by the opportunity to acknowledge the great sacrifices made by our World War II heroes of Lister-Knowlton Post 9389 Veterans of Foreign Wars in Caribou and our Veterans throughout Maine's Second District. This commemoration celebrates a monumental victory for the United States these brave Americans helped achieve. Our World War II Veterans changed the world by answering the ultimate call of duty in defense of freedom and democracy. I'm humbled by the opportunity to honor and thank all of our brave Maine Veterans who helped achieve this immeasurable triumph. Your immortal accomplishments will continue to inspire Maine generations to come. I stand with your fellow Mainers in thanks for all that you have given to our Country. We will never forget your bravery.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, the Iranian Government has American blood on its hands. It vows to kill as many more U.S. citizens as it can; it is committed to destroying Israel; and it funds, trains, and arms terrorists throughout the Middle East. This nuclear deal with Iran does not dismantle their program. It rewards Iran with $100 billion in cash and frozen assets, and there are no anytime, anywhere inspections. In 5 years, Iran can develop or buy conventional weapons, and in 8 years, it can buy or develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. Now, some Members here in the House and in the Senate hope that these radical mullahs will abandon their quest to become a military power. I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that hope is not a national security strategy, especially against those who wish to kill us. Mr. Speaker, the best way to protect our homeland and to keep us safe is to reject this deal.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chair, on rollcall No. 419, I mistakenly voted ``no'' on the Walker Amendment. I should have and would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, Maine is home to the most skilled paper makers in the world. Our hardworking men and women manufacture paper products that we use every day. Our paper makers are also some of the best stewards of the environment. They know that we need healthy forests to make the high quality wood products sold around the globe. When trees are harvested to make paper, the branches and the bark can be left behind to be decomposed; or they can be burned to generate energy to run the machinery to make paper. Either way, the carbon from this biomass is returned to the environment as part of the natural carbon cycle. What a great idea-- instead of ending up in a landfill, this green, renewable energy fuels our economy and creates jobs. Now, our Sappi paper mill in Skowhegan, Maine, burns biomass to make some of the finest quality paper in the world. In doing so, it directly employs 800 hard-working Mainers. In addition, loggers and truckers who produce and transport this biomass also earn paychecks for their families. Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency is attacking this renewable method to power our businesses and to create jobs. All of us who have sat around a campfire have seen that wet wood, branches, and grass emit a darker smoke. However, the same carbon is being recycled through the environment. It is just a slightly different color. The EPA wants to impose stricter emission standards on companies that burn wet wood, branches, and bark instead of dumping them into a landfill. That just doesn't make sense. Mr. Chairman, the EPA is trying to force our Skowhegan mill to spend millions of additional dollars on special smokestack equipment because wet biomass burns darker. The mill owners have worked diligently with the regional EPA office in Boston and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to put in place a commonsense emissions monitoring system that reflects the burning of biomass. Sadly, the EPA headquarters right here in Washington rejected their sensible solution. Mr. Chairman, this is not fair, and this is not right. Those 800 hard-working paper makers at the Sappi mill deserve an EPA that works for them, not against them. Now, our paper mill in Maine could very well be a different mill in Michigan, Minnesota, or Georgia that also uses green American biomass energy. America should keep her energy dollars and jobs here at home and not ship them to the Middle East. Our businesses need that energy to keep our manufacturing jobs right here in America and not send them to China. This is a national security issue, as well as a jobs issue, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I ask my House Republicans and Democrats today to support my simple, commonsense bill. Passing it will stop the EPA from unfairly penalizing employers who use green, renewable American biomass energy. My amendment prohibits the EPA from reaching beyond some of the biomass emission rules already being enforced by the regional EPA offices and the State environmental authorities. Let's show the American people today that Congress supports a domestic energy source that is good for the environment, creates jobs, and keeps us safer here at home

Mr. POLIQUIN. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I would strongly disagree with my colleague on the other side of the aisle. Those of us or those who have visited our great State know that we have a pristine natural environment. It is part of our brand, Mr. Chairman. It is something that we protect and will continue to protect at all costs. However, as a freshman legislator, I have been here for 6 months, and what I have learned in those 6 months is that we have almost a fourth branch of government, and that is these regulators that regulate every part of our life, whether we are trying to make paper or what have you and trying to provide work for our families. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Steven Levesque on earning the prestigious Community Excellence Award. I join the Association of Defense Communities (ADC) in recognizing Mr. Levesque's tireless efforts to cultivate business and employ Mainers at the former Naval Air Station Brunswick, now known as Brunswick Landing, and the former Topsham Annex, now known as the Topsham Commerce Park. As Executive Director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), Mr. Levesque has worked with an exceptional team to swiftly transform the base property from military to civilian functionality. The success of MRRA's Reuse Master Plans for the former military installation serves as a model for innovative business practice in the state of Maine and beyond. Already, Mr. Levesque and MRRA have helped to bring 72 total businesses to Brunswick Landing and the result of their extraordinary efforts is 617 new Maine jobs. In addition to the Brunswick Landing, the Topsham Commerce Park provides residential space as well as office, retail and civic uses for residents. Although the surrounding community of this project is not in my Congressional district, I recognize how critical the work of Mr. Levesque and MRRA is to my Second District constituents, the businesses that employ them, and the overall health of Maine's economy. It is an honor to recognize Mr. Levesque on his leadership and ingenuity as the Executive Director of MRRA. Our great state thanks and applauds Mr. Levesque for his hard work as he accepts the Community Excellence Award.