Bruce Poliquin

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, for generations, Maine families have enjoyed the great outdoors. That means hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking. That is part of who we are as a people. That is part of our way of life. Part of that way of life is responsibly and lawfully owning firearms. We are comfortable with them. We have been for generations. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Hudson's bill, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, is a commonsense fix to a patchwork of State laws that will confuse, and do confuse, law-abiding Americans who have valid concealed carry permits issued by their own States when they want to travel to or through other States that have different concealed carry laws. I want to make this very clear: H.R. 38 does not allow travel as long as the holder of a concealed carry license does not obey the laws of the States that he or she is traveling to. I read directly, Mr. Speaker, from the statute: ``This bill shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State.'' So the other side of the aisle just needs to make sure they get this exactly right, because they have not been correct on this fact. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Hudson's bill actually additionally strengthens existing regulations by requiring Federal Government agencies to promptly and accurately require a reporting to the FBI someone who is mentally ill, someone who has committed a serious crime, or someone who is in the country illegally and should not have a firearm. This bill is a commonsense bill that will help law-abiding Americans enjoy their Second Amendment right, their outdoor sporting activities, and help keep our families safer.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. He forgot pine trees, but that is okay. Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to stand up and support H.R. 1699, Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, and I salute Congressman Andy Barr from Kentucky to bring this forward. Maine, Mr. Speaker, has some of the highest homeownership rates in the country. We love our homes in Maine. I represent the rural part of our State, and in our State, Mr. Speaker, we have times of the year where the weather is pretty tough. If you are building a home that is not manufactured in a warehouse, sometimes you literally cannot build that home because of the weather, the snow, and the cold, and what have you. But there is nothing more important, Mr. Speaker, nothing more important than making sure moms and dads across America and across Maine have an option, have as many options as possible to house their kids, to take care of their kids, and make sure they are safe. Manufactured housing, in many parts of the country, is the only affordable option. Now, H.R. 1699 makes a small, technical change such that folks who want to get into a home and want to take part in the great American Dream of homeownership have the opportunity to get a loan to do this. Government, Mr. Speaker, is supposed to help our families, not get in the way. Here is an example of us being able to remove an unnecessary restriction that hurts our families and prevents them from having an opportunity to get in their first home. We need more options, not less, Mr. Speaker. Let's help our families and not get in the way. I salute Mr. Barr for this great bill. I am fully in support of this. Let's help our families get into manufactured homes if this is what they want and this is what they can afford.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this very important bill. Mr. Speaker, Maine is vacationland. We have a population in Maine of only 1.3 million people, but every year we have about 40 million visitors to our great State. We have thousands of sparkling, clean lakes and ponds, hundreds of miles of swift-running rivers, and we have 3,600 miles of stunningly beautiful coastline. I have never, ever, met anybody who has vacationed in Maine who did not leave without a smile. It is just a great place to live and bring up kids. Now, the tourist industry employs about 150,000 people directly in the State of Maine, and it is critical that we have a pristine environment in Maine to further this industry. Mr. Speaker, during the past 40 years, sadly, most of our paper mills, our textile mills, and our shoe factories in the great State of Maine have closed and, in many cases, they have left behind contaminated brownfields contaminated with heavy metals and chemicals. Now, those of us who have been blessed with children know how critically important their health is. My mother is 89 and had a great career as a nurse, and we grew up in our house with taking care of others. I raised my son as a single parent, taking care of my son. I understand how much easier it is to stay healthy and be healthy if you are in a clean environment. Mr. Speaker, that is why H.R. 3017 is so important. It makes sure that we provide funding to clean up polluted contaminated brownfields industrial sites. Mr. Speaker, since 1994, hundreds of brownfields across this great country have been cleaned up. When they are cleaned up, they are often repurposed into athletic fields, schools, and hospitals. This, at the same time, strengthens our local communities because they are put back, in many cases, on the property tax rolls, if they are a private sector development. In the town of Millinocket, right smack in the middle of my district, Miller's Department Store is an old building, decaying and full of mold, and it is being benefited from a grant from this brownfields program. The T.W. Dick property in Gardiner, in central Maine, used to be a steel fabricator. It is now contaminated with heavy metals and is experiencing a new life because of this program. Mr. Speaker, cleaning up our environment to help our kids stay safe and healthy should not ever be a partisan issue. This is as bipartisan as you could possibly find. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I am encouraging Republicans and Democrats alike to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3017. Let's do something common sense, provide the funding to clean up these brownfields sites and repurpose this land for the betterment of our families.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Harper for the opportunity to speak on this very important issue. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, and Barbara Comstock, a Republican from Virginia, for providing leadership on this issue. I am delighted to join them. Mr. Speaker, there can be absolutely zero tolerance for sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation in the workplace. I don't care if you are a professional athlete, in the media business, in the entertainment business, or certainly in the people's House here in Congress, there can be zero tolerance for this sort of behavior. It is about time, Mr. Speaker, that the legislative branch join the executive branch in making sure there is mandatory training to try to prevent this from happening and end it right now. I salute Congresswoman Speier and Congresswoman Comstock for their leadership. Mr. Speaker, my only child is a millennial. The last thing I want to worry about is my son going to work and being intimidated or harassed such that he can't do his work. My mother, who is now 89, had a terrific career in the healthcare business. She was a nurse. She could not have had a career in nursing had she showed up at hospitals and nursing homes being scared about a work environment. Finding and preventing sexual harassment, intimidation, and bullying wherever it is is a no-brainer for Members of Congress. I am asking, Mr. Speaker, everybody in this Chamber, whether Republican or Democrat--and, yes, on the other side of the dome in the Senate, also-- to please, let's pass this resolution, starting in the House. It is a first step to change the internal rules to eliminate this anywhere on Capitol Hill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful that the House will be voting on this commonsense piece of legislation tonight. I am very proud to represent the Houlton Band of the Maliseet Indians in Houlton, Maine, who created the first Tribal veterans cemetery not only in Maine, but also along the entire East Coast. This past summer, Mr. Speaker, I was very surprised to learn that family members of veterans buried at Tribal cemeteries are not provided the same treatment as those buried at State and national veterans cemeteries. H.R. 3657 fixes this issue permanently. Specifically, it would ensure that the family members of veterans who are buried at Tribal cemeteries--such as the Maliseet Indian Tribal cemetery in Houlton--are provided with government-furnished headstones, the same treatment as those buried at national and State veterans cemeteries. Mr. Speaker, we are all Americans. People who put on the uniform-- whether a man or a woman, whoever they are, wherever they live, or whatever cemetery they are buried in--deserve the same respect, the same honor, and the same treatment. I am thrilled to tell everybody listening here that this moved out of committee--this commonsense fix--this bill moved out of committee with unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I am asking for that to happen tonight when it appears on the floor, and I am grateful for our chairman to bring this up tonight.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill, Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017. I do thank the gentleman from Washington State for this time. I urge all Members, Republicans and Democrats, to support the rule and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I want to focus my remarks on one specific and very important section of the underlying bill. This pertains to allowing young men and young women the opportunity to work and to learn the family trade of logging. Now, logging is a very big business in the State of Maine. About 90 percent of our State, Mr. Speaker, is forested, and we have generations and traditions of logging in the State of Maine. Logging is often a family-run business where the practice and the technique of harvesting and then transporting saw logs to mills are passed down from one generation to another. Now, H.R. 2936 brings Federal regulations in line with this new technology and new standards of safety by allowing family-owned logging businesses the ability to train 16- and 17-year-olds under very close supervision of their parents. We need to make certain, Mr. Speaker, that the next generation of loggers are able to learn what they need to know, how to run these family-run businesses, including the operation and maintenance of their equipment. We do this, please, by supporting the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017. This bill, Mr. Speaker, will ensure that the long-term health of the logging business industry is supported and can continue from one generation to another.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join 1.3 million fellow Mainers in celebrating National Forest Products Week. Mr. Speaker, our great State is 90 percent covered by healthy, sustainable forests which support more than 30,000 good-paying jobs. Now, nationally, our working forests support 930,000 hardworking Americans who manage the forests, who harvest the trees, and who transport the wood to paper mills and energy plants across our great Nation. Every day, products like paper and lumber and pet food bags and toothpicks and pencils make our lives better. And the best part, Mr. Speaker, is that these trees grow back after we cut them, so this entire green, sustainable industry creates good-paying jobs generation after generation. Now, Democrats and Republicans must do everything humanly possible to help make sure our forest products industry is healthy and thrives. And to that end, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank everybody in this Chamber to make sure that we continue to treat biomass fairly in our regulations, make sure biomass is carbon neutral. This will avoid unnecessary and costly regulations being imposed on our mills, factories, and energy plants.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Madam Chair, I inadvertently voted ``aye'' when I intended to vote ``no'' on rollcall No. 521. Amendment No. 200 Offered by Mr. Ellison

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I am thrilled to rise today to speak on behalf of my amendment which will remove unnecessary, redundant, and burdensome regulations from our sea urchins and sea cucumbers industry in the great State of Maine. Now, we have some of the most hardworking people, Mr. Chair, in our State, and some of them--about 600 or so of them--along with the processing part brave the cold, dark waters of the great State of Maine and dive for sea urchins and cucumbers and harvest them on a regular basis year-round. It is a process that is dangerous, but these delicacies are sold all around the world, mostly in the Far East, and we need to make sure our government helps these individuals work this terrific fishery that has been doing so well in the past. Now, I want to thank my colleague, Chellie Pingree, who represents the First District. I represent the Second District of Maine. She has been very helpful. We have worked together for quite some time on this issue in a bipartisan way to make sure, Mr. Chairman, that we don't have too many regulations that are unnecessary and expensive such that we can make sure this part of our fishery is healthy and goes forward. So, again, I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, very much your giving me this opportunity to speak on behalf of my amendment.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I would remind you that ``Maine is Vacationland.'' If you have not booked your Maine vacation, there is still plenty of time. I would like to thank Chairman Roe, who is a Vietnam veteran himself and a doctor, in leading us down this path for better healthcare for our veterans. Mr. Speaker, it was, I believe, our first Commander in Chief, George Washington, who said, and I paraphrase, that we can never expect young men and women in this country to step forward and fight for their country and give us the freedom that we all enjoy unless and until we take care of those who have already sacrificed on the battlefield. That is what this is about. Mr. Speaker, in our State, we have about 125,000 veterans, and we love our veterans in the State of Maine. More than half of them are in the Second Congressional District that I represent, which is mostly central, down east, western, and northern Maine. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, we know how to shoot straight up in Maine, and we just need to make sure we take care of our veterans who live in rural areas. One of the great concerns I have--and I know the chairman and others on the committee have the same concern--is that what about if you are a veteran that lives far away from a medical hospital, a veterans hospital. In the State of Maine, we have one veterans hospital. It is called Togus. It is the first VA hospital in the country--about 150 years old--and it was put together first to take care of those who have served on the battlefield in the Civil War. In northern Maine, you might live in Fort Kent or Van Buren or Madawaska and be a 5-hour drive away from Togus. If you are not feeling well, it is February and the snow is blowing sideways, it might be really tough to get down to Togus. That is why this Choice Program is so important. It allows our veterans who live far away from medical facilities to get their treatment close to home. This is something that I am a huge advocate of, and it is something we need to keep doing. Now, one more thing I want to mention if I may, Mr. Speaker, is that we all know that veterans heal better with other veterans. We are not in any way trying to replace the veterans' facilities. We have healthcare facilities in this country. But the Choice Program allows us to augment that care through the Choice Program where they are able to go to private facilities. Now, this emergency funding is absolutely critical. It will extend this program for 6 months instead of letting it run out of money in 3 weeks. It also includes something that is highly important. I am so grateful to the chairman for including it. It includes the ability to authorize a lease in Portland, Maine, for a brand-new, state-of-the- art, if you will, VA facility, a CBOC facility, an outpatient facility, that will serve about 4,000 veterans in the State of Maine.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Chellie Pingree from the First District of the State of Maine. I represent the Second District. I encourage everyone in this body, Republicans and Democrats, to please take care of our veterans. Please vote for S. 114 to renew the authorization in the emergency fund for the Choice Program.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, throughout America's 241-year history, millions of brave men and women have fought for our freedom, and we are grateful for their service. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, we find an American hero who worked behind the scenes to keep us free. Eugene Wing of Fairfield, Maine, in central Maine, is one of these heroes. Gene was a gifted student who graduated from Bowdoin College in 1905 and then studied economics at Oxford University in England. He was then hired, Mr. Speaker, by The International Banking Corporation and sent to the Philippines, where he became an expert on the trade of natural resources in the Far East. At the start, Mr. Speaker, of World War I and, later, World War II, the Army Intelligence Service asked Gene to help defeat the enemy and save the world. Mr. Wing took extraordinary risks to locate and help control the flow of coal, oil, gold, silver, and iron ore which were desperately needed by the enemy's war machine. His daring spirit and extraordinary knowledge of these raw materials gave America and our Allies the upper hand to win both World Wars. Mr. Wing's unusual skill made him a target of our enemies, and he was eventually captured and put to death. Mr. Speaker, Eugene Wing from Fairfield, Maine, is a true American hero. Millions of people around the world who live in freedom today are the beneficiaries of his sacrifice, his bravery, and his patriotism. We are grateful for Mr. Wing, and we will never forget.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, sadly, rural Maine is ground zero for the opioid epidemic in America. Every day, on average, Mr. Speaker, one fellow Mainer dies from an overdose. Sixty percent of our families are impacted one way or another from this scourge. For years, Mr. Speaker, law enforcement officials in Maine have found electronic benefit transfer cards, or EBT cards, at drug busts. Every month, these EBT cards are replenished with food stamps and other welfare benefits intended to help disadvantaged families. But too often these valuable cards are used to buy drugs. Mr. Speaker, this has got to stop. I have found a commonsense way to do that. My Food Stamp Integrity Act permanently disqualifies anyone convicted of drug trafficking from receiving food stamps. This will help make sure limited welfare benefits are saved to compassionately help moms and dads put food on the table for hungry kids. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3151 will require able-bodied adults without dependents, between the ages of 18 and 50, work at least 20 hours per week, job train, or perform community service in order for taxpayers to help them out with food assistance. Mr. Speaker, similar reforms in Maine have helped lift thousands out of poverty and into independence and better lives through employment. We have plenty of jobs available. My bill will help save precious welfare dollars for the disabled, elderly, sick, and the poor. It will also help stop deadly drug trafficking and treat taxpayers better. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3151 is a Maine commonsense solution to a national problem. I ask everyone in this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats, to vote for it.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the leadership of the Armed Services Committee in the Seapower Subcommittee on both sides of the aisle to accept this amendment and its important modifications to the underlying bill provision limiting the availability of funds for prior fiscal year DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers. My revised amendment, Mr. Chair, is agreed to by the committee and, importantly, removes the additional, or third, fiscal year 2016 DDG-51 ship from the provision's proposed requirements. Additionally, sir, and again, as agreed to by the committee, it states the sense of Congress that the Navy should bear the majority of the share-line risk for the fiscal year 2017 DDG-51 Flight III destroyer contract, which will represent the first ships to integrate the Air and Missile Defense Radar, which is 30 times more effective and better than the legacy radar system.

Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Thornberry and Chairman Wittman for their support on my important amendment. Bath Iron Works is a critical national security asset to our country. It is a source of great pride for all Mainers, and the shipyard employs some 6,000 of our most talented, hardworking citizens who care greatly about their contributions every day to keeping America safe and keeping America strong.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address the Floor on this important issue. Gentlemen, it was our first Commander in Chief, George Washington, who said something to the effect that we can never expect our young men and women to step forward and fight for our country unless those who have already returned from the battlefield are taken care of. This is a solemn oath that we all have to honor. It is critically important. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, in the State of Maine, we have about 125,000 veterans, and we love our veterans. We understand what it is like to fight for our freedom and to stand up for our way of life. In the State of Maine, we have Togus Medical Center, which is the first veterans hospital in the country, about 150 years old. We understand this. They have great employees, and many of them are veterans themselves. However, a couple of years ago our country was shocked to learn that there were and are some bad actors in this whole process. A few years ago, we learned that some of the folks at the veterans facility in Phoenix, Arizona, were cooking the scheduling books in order to get paid more money through a bonus program when, in fact, they did not and had not scheduled mental health appointments for some of our veterans who were at risk, and, as a result, a number of those veterans died. This is absolutely unacceptable. There is nobody who has fought for this country on the front lines who comes home, who needs help, that should be denied help; and it certainty shouldn't be those who are supposed to take care of them who are cooking the books for their own benefit. Mr. Speaker, that is why I am asking every Republican and Democrat here in this Chamber to support the Senate's bill, 1094. This is a good bill that holds the VA employees accountable for improper behavior. And, yes, sir, it does give, Mr. Speaker, management at the VA the opportunity to replace, fire, or otherwise, those who are supposed to care for our veterans who have chosen not to do so. Please support S. 1094

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I represent the most honest, hardworking families in this country, in the great State of Maine. I also represent tens of thousands of small-business owners in our State that create thousands of jobs for our families. In the State of Maine, Mr. Chairman, we know the difference between right and wrong, and it is wrong to force taxpayers to bail out huge Wall Street banks that take too much risk when it goes wrong. Now, the small community banks and credit unions that dot our landscape in Maine did not cause the most recent recession. These reforms that we are passing today in the Financial CHOICE Act reduce unnecessary paperwork and costs that will help our small community banks and credit unions lend money to small businesses and our families so they can live better lives with more freedom and have better job opportunities. Also, I am proud to say that the Financial CHOICE Act keeps in place very strong protections, Mr. Chairman, for consumers of financial services while at the same time imposing the toughest penalties ever for fraud and inside dealings for folks that participate in this industry. It is no wonder, Mr. Chairman, that huge money center banks and Wall Street are not for the Financial CHOICE Act. But I am, and I encourage everybody to vote for this Financial CHOICE Act. It is a great bill for rural America.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourn today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman very much for this opportunity to speak on behalf of H.R. 1329, and I salute Congressman Bost from Illinois and Congresswoman Esty from the great State of Connecticut for their great work in a bipartisan fashion to help our heroes. I think, Mr. Speaker, it was our first Commander in Chief, George Washington, who said, in effect, that we can never expect our young men and women to step forward and serve our country in uniform unless and until we make sure we take care of those who have already returned from the battlefield. Now, in the State of Maine, Mr. Speaker, we love our veterans. We have about 125,000 of our heroes in our State of Maine, more than half of whom are in the rural part of our State, the Second Congressional District of Maine, that I am honored to represent. I think it is a great idea and about time that we make sure that we come before the American people, Republicans and Democrats together, to make sure that our veterans receive a cost-of-living adjustment--those who have been disabled--as a result of their service for our country. Mr. Speaker, I ask all Republicans and Democrats on this committee and in this body to please support H.R. 1329. It is the right thing to do, to give a cost-of-living increase to our veterans.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for those kind remarks. I am so proud to represent the most honest and hardworking Americans you can find anywhere. Maine's Second Congressional District is, if not the largest, the second largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River. It is about an 8-hour drive from Fryeburg to Madawaska, and you are going to spend about half your time dodging moose and other critters on the road. We are tough, we are rugged, but we need jobs. We need jobs. We have had a situation in our State for the past 30 years where many of our paper mills and sawmills and textile mills and leather tanneries have closed. We have a handful left. And right smack in the middle of our State is the great city of Old Town, Maine, just a little bit north of Bangor. Old Town has also suffered the closure of a significant mill--or two, actually. Ron Harriman, who is the economic development director of Old Town, reached out to our office and said: Bruce, we have a problem here. We have a terrific piece of property surrounding our airport. We have gone through extensive work and cost to the town to extend utilities to this piece of land. But lo and behold, there is a Federal deed restriction on that land that dates back decades that doesn't allow us to sell the land and develop it for more jobs. I don't doubt at the time, Mr. Speaker, that the Federal Government that was buying up local property across the country, reclaiming it and turning it into agricultural land, I don't question the purpose of that and the good intentions of that; but that was a long time ago. We now have a situation where the city of Old Town needs to be able to sell this property in order to attract other investment and other jobs to help our families in central Maine. Removing this deed restriction will allow that to happen. I am asking everybody in this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats--and I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson)--please support H.R. 1177. There are many times, Mr. Speaker, when all the government needs to do is get out of the way. This is one example. Let the Federal Government get out of the way. We know how to create jobs in the State of Maine. Let's remove this red tape. Let's let this land be sold for folks who want to create jobs. I would be very grateful for everybody in this Chamber to support H.R. 1177 and let the people of central Maine live better lives with more jobs and more freedom.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, and I appreciate it very much. I do want to thank the Congresswoman from New York and also Congressman Juan Vargas of California who stepped up as the lead cosponsor of this legislation. As Mr. Hill mentioned a moment ago, about two-thirds of our new jobs in the last decade have been created by small business. This is the bloodline of our economy, and certainly in Maine, Mr. Speaker, where we are a State and a district of small businesses, this is very particular to my interest. Those of us who have run small businesses know that one of the biggest challenges you have is how to borrow money--access to capital-- because unless you have access to capital and unless you have the funds you need to grow and expand, you can't create new opportunities and new jobs for our kids and our grandkids. So access to capital is absolutely critical when it comes to growing our economy and providing more opportunities for the next generation. As has already been said today, the SEC holds these annual forums where small-business leaders who are on the ground creating jobs and those in the public sector get together, and they review and explore new ways and better ways to change the regulations and the rules we have in this country such that access to capital is enhanced. What better idea; what more common sense do we need than to have a bill, H.R. 1312, that I am very proud to sponsor, that requires the SEC to assess every recommendation by this forum every year--not necessarily act upon it, but take it off the shelf, assess it, and determine if action should be taken. I want to thank all the folks who have participated in our forums over the years, both the public and the private sector, and I ask, Mr. Speaker, that all my colleagues in this House, Republicans and Democrats, please support H.R. 1312.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of those of us in Congress is to create a predictable and streamlined set of regulations, such that we have an environment for the private sector, for businesses to invest, to grow, and to hire more of our constituents. And when that happens, Mr. Speaker, the folks in America live better lives with fatter paychecks and better futures. Now, we all know that small businesses need more help than large companies when it comes to dealing with the regulatory environment because they don't have the firepower, the horsepower, the manpower to deal with these complex regulations. When you start a small business, one of the most important ingredients is access to capital. You need investment funds, whether you are starting a bakery in Lewiston, Maine, or an auto body shop in Oxford, Maine. Now, that is why H.R. 1219 is important, and I want to congratulate Congressman Patrick McHenry for bringing this to the floor. By increasing the number of investors capped from 100 to 250 individuals who are qualified to make these investments to help small businesses, it will provide more money, more funding, more capital for small businesses and startups to grow, to start, and to create more jobs for folks back home. Government is in the business and should be in the business to help our families, not hurt them. That is why I encourage all of my fellow colleagues here in the House, Republicans and Democrats, to support this good, commonsense bill.

Mr. POLIQUIN

Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 220 on passage of H.R. 1304, I am not recorded because I inadvertently missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Personal Explanation