Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I don't quite understand what the other side is saying today, talking about politics and being irresponsible and not compassionate. Are you kidding me?

Here in the House of Representatives and in the Senate we take an oath to support and defend our Constitution. That means keeping our families safe. There is no more important responsibility, nothing more important than keeping our families safe. That means rebuilding our military, and, yes, it also means securing our borders and knowing who is entering our country.

I don't know why it is so hard to make a distinction between what is legal and what is illegal entry. I come from Maine. We have a 600-mile border with Canada. They are great neighbors. But I feel for the people down in the southwest part of our country. It is common sense to secure our borders, know who is entering our country.

I will tell you, my heart goes out to these folks who have made their way from Central America to the other side of the border fence with Texas, in Mexico, wanting to come in here. But we don't know who they are, beyond the fact that we do know, according to Homeland Security, there are 600 folks who have criminal backgrounds.

These folks have been offered asylum and work permits by the country of Mexico--every single one of them--and they have refused. Now they want to enter our country. Fine, but they have got to do it legally.

In rural Maine, we have been hard-hit by the opioid epidemic. There is nothing more difficult than this issue in rural America. Eighty percent of this terrible, cheap heroin--deadly heroin--which is a substitute for the opioid pills comes over that southwest border.

The House should pass this bill and secure our borders. It is common sense. The best Christmas gift for America is securing our borders, and I support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, during this joyful time of year, I would like to give thanks for the improving health of my great State of Maine.

Because we have cut taxes and regulations, our small businesses are growing and hiring more workers and paying them more. Maine's 2.7 percent unemployment is the lowest rate in 50 years.

We are rebuilding our military to keep our families safe, while supporting 6,000 shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works.

We have passed legislation that guts online human trafficking, which protects our daughters and our sons.

We have made the biggest financial commitment ever to combat the opioid epidemic, giving thousands of struggling Mainers hope for recovery and better lives.

Child poverty in Maine is dropping, while education is closer to home, where it belongs.

We have strengthened Social Security and Medicare so our seniors have more peace of mind.

Our veterans, our beloved veterans, are now able to receive their healthcare closer to home, and our small hospitals that provide those services must get paid on time; otherwise, interest accrues on the outstanding bills.

And Maine's pristine natural environment is living up to our brand: Vacationland. The way life should be.

Mr. Speaker, Maine families are doing better and better, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to help.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, and may God always bless the United States of America and our great State of Maine.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Garrett for the opportunity to address the House.

Mr. Speaker, it is the responsibility of the United States House of Representatives, this body, and also the United States Senate, to protect our families. There is nothing more important as dictated by the United States Constitution, than to protect our families.

Mr. Speaker, we have one heck of a problem on our southwest border with Mexico: in California, New Mexico, and Arizona. We have a very dangerous and very unhealthy situation just on the other side of the fence, in particular now, with Mexico. I am asking the President tonight, if he is watching, to please, publicly ask the House Republicans, while we are still in the majority, please ask us to pass a real strong border security and immigration bill.

We did this several months ago. Goodlatte-McCaul One, as they called it, got 193 votes. It has everything that the President wanted, his four pillars and a heck of a lot more. Why in the world do we want to negotiate for peanuts when we can have the whole ball of wax?

Goodlatte-McCaul One, has $25 billion, Mr. Trump, $25 billion for border security, including the wall where necessary; $25 billion--not $5 billion--$25 billion over 5 years. It ends the visa lottery. It reins in chain migration, and it reforms the asylum process.

It is more than the President wants. This will happen, Mr. Speaker, only if the President of the United States publicly asks House Republicans to pass this bill or something really close to it.

The votes are there. Over the past 2 weeks, I have talked to every single member of the Republican Conference, 235 Members of the House. I have spoken to every single one, except for about five or six. We have the votes to do this. It is not too late, but it is getting late.

After the Democrats take control of this body, they have told us what they will bring or try to bring to the President's desk. It will not be what the President wants. It will not be what America wants.

It will be some form of open border, sanctuary cities, and amnesty. There is no better deal. There is no longer an opportunity to hold out for a better deal. We have the votes to pass Goodlatte-McCaul One or something real close to it.

But I ask the President, he must publicly ask the House to do it. That will give enough of our Members the support they need to vote for it, and it will cause leadership to act.

Again, why would we want to negotiate for peanuts when we can get the

whole ball of wax? I appreciate and I thank Mr. Garrett very much for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I must tell everybody who is listening today that there is a reason that I am Parker's favorite Member of Congress: Because I have earned that respect and that right. With that said, I am delighted to speak up about Parker Poling.

I notice that her two wonderful daughters, Eliza and Barrett, are up here in the gallery, along with her handsome husband, Todd. This is a very special day for Parker, her family, and for this Chamber.

There were and are a number of us, Mr. Speaker, who come to the House from different backgrounds. We come here to do what is right and to help our country and, in my case, to help my great State of Maine and my constituents. This is a big place. Washington is a confusing place. Many people call Washington a mess. At times, I would agree with that. Most of the time, I would agree with that.

But when you have an opportunity to find someone who is smart, tough, fair, gracious, patient, and listens to new Members, you gravitate toward that person. That is Parker Poling.

I met Parker, actually, before I was elected to Congress in 2014 and immediately took to her, like so many folks have before. Over the years, when there were tough decisions to be made in the parliamentary process here, which is very foreign to businesspeople like myself, there is only one person I would go to. And God bless Mr. McHenry, but it was not him; it was Parker.

Parker is the person I always call. And I will continue to call her as time goes forward because I know I will get very sound advice from someone who is incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly passionate.

Parker Poling is a strong American woman. I am sure she is a tremendous role model, not only to her two wonderful young ladies, young children, young girls, but also to countless other American women across this land.

We have more freedom in this country; we have more opportunities; we have a stronger economy; we have a better education system that is closer to home because of the good counsel that Parker Poling has given to many of us.

We are blessed to have Parker with us. I am blessed to have known Parker and will continue to enjoy the time that we spend together on behalf of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I could talk about Parker Poling all evening.

God bless.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are alarmed by the unsafe and unhealthy situation along the Southwest border. A caravan of thousands and thousands of Central Americans has made its way through Mexico to

camp just on the other side of the border fence in Texas.

Now, my heart, Mr. Speaker, goes out to these people, but we cannot let them be allowed to overwhelm our border and to enter our country illegally.

These individuals, Mr. Speaker, have been offered asylum and work permits by Mexico, but they have refused.

Homeland Security has confirmed that 600 known criminals are among those in the encampment, and beyond that, we simply do not know, Mr. Speaker, who these people are.

This dangerous situation is going to get only worse, unless it is addressed. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I have connected with almost every one of our 235 Republican Members in the House, asking them to join me to solve this national security and immigration problem.

There is overwhelming support, Mr. Speaker, to do so, and I will bring this up tomorrow at conference, along with lots of other Republicans.

The primary responsibility of Congress is to protect our families, Mr. Speaker. This is our last chance as Republicans in the majority to fix this mess. Otherwise, next year, the Democrat majority has signaled they will push for open borders and amnesty legislation.

This is our last chance as Republicans in the majority to get this right.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Young very much for this opportunity to be here.

Mr. Chairman, ``Maine is Vacationland.'' Everybody in the country and everybody on this floor should know that. In fact, Mr. Chairman, we put ``vacationland'' on our license plates just to make sure everybody knows that.

Our population in the great State of Maine is 1.3 million hardy souls, but we have 40 million people vacation in our State every year. We have 3,000 miles of breathtaking coastline and hundreds and hundreds of clear lakes and streams and hundreds of miles of swift-running streams and rivers.

Everybody that is stressed out in this country, Mr. Chairman, should go to Maine and have their summer vacation because, Mr. Chairman, the tourist industry in the State of Maine employs about 150,000 people.

Maine, Mr. Chairman, is also lobster. There isn't a person in this country who does not relate the great State of Maine to lobsters. Now, I know Mr. Chairman over here has some great critters up in Alaska called crabs, king crabs. Now, they are a good species, but Maine lobsters are a great species, and we need to stand up for our lobsters, Mr. Chairman.

On the water in the State of Maine, on the water we have 10,000 jobs that support our lobster industry--10,000. These are folks who pull traps in their stern.

We have a terrific staffer, Mr. Chairman, here on this committee, Bill Ball, who got through college pulling lobster traps. It is hard work, very hard work.

In addition to the folks who pull the traps, we have folks on land who process them and ship them all over the world. It is a $1 billion industry, all said, in the State of Maine.

Mr. Chairman, when these folks rise before the Sun comes up and they head out to sea, sometimes in January and February, they are pulling up to 800 traps, and they get their critters on the boat and they have got to rebait those traps. They have got to keep their catch alive on the boat. They have got to get them back to the dock, and then they have got to get them to a processor and then to someone who is a dealer who packages these things and ships them all over the world.

Every time in this process, I fear, Mr. Chairman, there are fees, Federal, State, and maybe local fees, that are charged to get that critter from the bottom of the cold Maine ocean to the plate of hungry folks around the world.

So my bill, Mr. Chairman, that I am honored to bring up, my amendment to H.R. 200, requires NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, do something very common sense. We want to make sure we have an inventory of all the fees that are charged

to get this product to market, because our guys on the docks are coming up to me and our dealers and our processors, saying: Bruce, why are you making it so hard for us?

Government, Mr. Chairman, is supposed to make it easy for our families to live better lives and our small businesses, and all these lobster fishermen are running small businesses. We need to make sure their fees are lower and the regulations are fewer and the taxes are lower because that helps them grow their business, hire more people and pay them more, and live better lives with fatter paychecks and more freedom.

So I am asking everybody, Mr. Chairman--and I am grateful, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak about H.R. 200--I am asking every Republican and every Democrat in this Chamber to do what is right, which is to inventory these fees, because once we find out what I think are going to be one big boatload of fees, I am going to come back to this body and ask to get rid of those fees.

Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this opportunity, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I know deep down in Mr. Young's heart, he is a Mainer at heart. I know that. I have been to Alaska. It is a good State. Maine is a great State, and, as a result, I know Mr. Young is going to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate this year's 11th Anniversary of the death of Sergeant Joel A. House, United States Army, and to recognize the Sgt. Joel A. House Summer Camp Fund's 10th Annual Beach n BBQ Day on Silver Lake in Lee, Maine.

Sgt. Joel House was an extraordinary man and soldier, serving in the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas and deployed to Iraq. He made the ultimate sacrifice on June 23, 2007 in Taji, Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

Since Sgt. Joel House's heroic death in 2007, his parents Paul and Deanna, beloved family, the Town of Lee, and our Great State of Maine have never forgotten his service and sacrifice. It has become tradition for his family and the people of Maine to pause and honor Sgt. House each and every year through the Sgt. Joel A. House Summer Camp Fund's Beach n BBQ fundraiser.

This year, on June 30, 2018, we will pay tribute to his life with this event, and support Maine youth as they seek to attend the summer camp of their choice, as Joel loved to do. Sergeant House's family and friends know how proud he would be to help so many Maine kids achieve their dreams.

Today, the legacy of Sergeant Joel House and his selfless sacrifice lives on in the Town of Lee. We are so proud that this man lived, and hailed from the heart of our Great State of Maine. I am humbled and honored to serve in the United States Congress on behalf of the House family and the residents of Lee, Maine, who are always looking to honor the memory of our brave heroes like Sgt. Joel House.

Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in recognizing the 11th Anniversary of the death of Sergeant Joel A. House, and in assuring his family, friends, and community that he will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate this year's 25th Anniversary of the death of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, U.S. Army Special Forces.

MSG Gary Gordon was an extraordinary man and soldier, serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in the Battle of Mogadishu. He went above and beyond the call of duty on October 3, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, giving his own life to save another.

Since MSG Gary Gordon's heroic death in 1993, his beloved family, the Town of Lincoln, and our Great State of Maine have never forgotten his service and sacrifice. It has become tradition for the people of Lincoln, Maine to pause and honor MSG Gordon, their hometown hero, each and every year.

This year, on June 30, 2018, we will pay tribute to his life with MSG Gary Gordon Day, including a 5k run and walk and a yard sale fundraiser to erect his memorial statue in The Town of Lincoln's Veterans Park. The memorial will feature MSG Gordon's Medal of Honor citation, as well as a plaque with the names of all the American soldiers killed in 1993 in Somalia.

Today, the legacy of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and his selfless sacrifice lives on in the Town of Lincoln. We are so proud that this man lived, and hailed from the heart of our Great State of Maine. I am humbled and honored to serve in the United States Congress on behalf of the Gordon family and the residents of Lincoln, Maine, who are always looking to honor the memory our brave heroes like MSG Gary Gordon.

Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the death of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, and in assuring his family, friends, and community that he will never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, Maine is a big small town. Our population is only 1.3 million people, and it seems like everybody, Mr. Speaker, knows everybody else. But this opioid epidemic has devastated so many of our families in the great State of Maine, including having a big impact on my own.

Every day, one Mainer dies from an opioid epidemic up in our great State. We must continue to battle this devastating scourge on our population, and it must be all hands on deck.

Several months ago, Congress appropriated $4 billion back to the States for increased law enforcement and early education and for recovery programs, but there is so much more, Mr. Speaker, that needs to be done. That is why this week I am so proud that the House of Representatives passed, with a big bipartisan vote, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act. This allows hospice workers to safely dispose of unused opioids and other powerful medications so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

I am grateful, Mr. Speaker, for all Democrats and Republicans here in D.C. and back in Maine who helped give our families more security. We have got to stay on the offense and battle this epidemic until we have won.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 262.

Stated against:

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on roll call No. 240.

Mr. Chairman, I greatly appreciate everybody recognizing the importance of the hardworking folks at the Defense Financing Accounting Services.

Lots of our fellow Americans might not realize that DFAS has an incredibly important function to cut the payroll checks for our men and women in uniform, and also they pay the vendors, suppliers, and contractors that keep our military operating; 122 million transactions last year.

Mr. Chairman, during the past 20 years, the Pentagon has consolidated 300 DFAS offices into 10 today, and the civilian workforce has been reduced from 27,000 to 13,000.

Mr. Chairman, I am so pleased and grateful that the Armed Services Committee and the Rules Committee are advancing my amendment to clarify that there is no intention by the House of Representatives to further consolidate any DFAS location or jobs.

Mr. Chairman, I am so proud of the 600 hardworking Mainers who cut checks for our brave military personnel at the DFAS facility in Limestone, Maine, way up north in Aroostook County. These 600 Maine jobs are so important to our families and also to our military personnel.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this terrific bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate in our great State of Maine is 2.7 percent. This is the lowest rate since the 1950s, and jobs, Mr. Speaker, are available everywhere for hardworking Mainers who now have bigger paychecks.

This growing economy, Mr. Speaker, is because taxes are lower and regulations are fewer. We must keep these reforms going. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone, Republicans and Democrats, to vote ``yes'' on S. 2155.

This bipartisan bill includes two provisions which I have been pushing for 3 years. First, the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act makes it easier for small businesses to borrow money when they need to grow, and that creates more jobs, bigger paychecks, more opportunity, and more freedom for our families.

Mr. Speaker, secondly, the Senior Safe Act helps protect our vulnerable seniors against financial scams. The legislation allows, for example, bank tellers, insurance agencies, and financial advisers to warn our seniors against draining their savings accounts and wiring the money to some distant location because someone is pretending to be their granddaughter in trouble. This bill, the Senior Safe Act, makes it easier to stop financial scams before they hurt our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Senator Susan Collins from Maine, for advancing this initiative in the Senate. Together, we pushed this commonsense provision in both the House and in the Senate.

I ask everyone, Mr. Speaker, to please vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan bill, S. 2155, and I thank the chairman for this opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, fellow Mainers and law enforcement officials from across our great State gathered in Augusta to add one more name to the Maine Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall: Nathan Desjardins.

The number of names on the memorial wall recognizes all law enforcement officers in the State of Maine who have died in the line of duty. That number, Mr. Speaker, has now reached 85.

Yesterday, we also honored Corporal Eugene Cole of the Somerset County Sheriff's Department. He was killed in the line of duty, Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago. His name will be added to the memorial wall next year.

My heart goes out to the families of these two brave law enforcement officials whose lives were both tragically cut short.

As Police Week comes to a close, let us all remember and recognize the immeasurable courage, sacrifice, and dedication of our law enforcement personnel across our Nation. Every day, they put their lives on that thin blue line that keeps our families safe and our communities strong. And, Mr.

Speaker, sometimes they don't return home.

May the good Lord accept Nathan Desjardins and Eugene Cole to rest in peace. Maine, America, and our world is a much better place because of their good work and their sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those kind words. I would agree with him, Maine is the greatest State in the Union. I know he didn't say that, but I know he meant that.

Mr. Speaker, Maine is the home of the most honest, hardest working people you can find anywhere in this country. We grew up in a very resilient, independent time in the State of Maine, and we cared for our neighbors and friends because it is compassionate to make sure you extend a helping hand.

Mr. Speaker, my 90-year-old mother was a terrific nurse. She had a career in nursing, caring for thousands of folks in nursing homes and hospitals throughout central Maine. My dad, who is now 88, was a beloved seventh grade social studies teacher and a coach and a basketball official for 30 years throughout the State.

I was raised in a very big-hearted Franco-American family devoted to helping others, and that is why I work so hard to make sure government does the same thing.

I have got some great news for folks across America who are looking to escape poverty and work their way up the ladder of independence. For 2 years, I have been pushing very hard to include job training, commonsense job training, community service, and work requirements for able-bodied adults with no disabilities themselves, no young kids at home, no elderly parents they are caring for, in order to receive food stamps.

We have got to be compassionate, Mr. Speaker, to help folks escape poverty instead of being trapped in a government program that has no end to it. The role of government, Mr. Speaker, is not to keep folks trapped in poverty and help make them comfortable living in it, but to try to give them a helping hand so they can learn a job skill, get a job, and live better lives with more independence.

Now, my work requirement, against what the media has reported and continues to report, has no cuts to food stamps by imposing these work requirements. If the benefits are not used because someone got a job, they are simply recycled back into job training.

And if you are pregnant or caring for young kids or you have a disability yourself, again, you are exempt from these requirements. But if you are able to work, we need to be compassionate and require people to work to lift themselves out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, there is one other part of the farm bill that I am really proud of that is included in the bill, and that is one that helps rural Maine and rural America. For the first time, locally grown fruits and vegetables can now be frozen or dried or pureed in order to qualify for school lunches and school snacks.

That means taxpayer dollars are able to buy foods that are just as nutritious as those that are fresh, save a lot of money, and make sure our kids can eat in a healthy way year round, and it also helps our local farmers.

I have one son, Mr. Speaker, who is 27, and I raised him from the time he was in diapers. Nothing was more important than making sure he had nutritious food on the table to eat. This helps us do that.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage everybody to vote ``yes'' for this farm bill.