Floor Statements

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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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

Mr. Chair, I would like to point out for the Record that

both Mr. Walz and Mr. Wenstrup are both veterans, and we are so grateful for their service to our country in so many different ways.

Mr. Chair, it was our first commander-in-chief, George Washington, who said, and I paraphrase, that we can never expect young men and women to rise to the occasion to fight for our country and for our freedom unless we take care of those who have already sacrificed on the battlefield. So the wonderful thing about serving on the Committee for Veterans Affairs, Mr. Chair, is that it is completely bipartisan.

This is all about our veterans. We just love them in the State of Maine--66,000 veterans strong in our Second District of Maine, Mr. Chair. We have one of the highest percentages of our population that are veterans in the country, and we are very, very proud of that.

I must say that, in my dealings with Togus--which is, by the way, Mr. Chair, the first military hospital in the country. It is about 150 years old now. They set up to take care of our Civil War veterans about 150 years ago.

In any event, in talking with the folks at Togus, they made it very clear to me, Mr. Chair, that one of their biggest problems they have, and it is ongoing, is: How do we hire quickly and retain the best quality doctors, nurses, and medical technicians to care for our heroes?

That is why I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity to vote for H.R. 1367, because it helps solve one of these problems. It removes red tape in the hiring process. It streamlines the hiring process.

The Veterans Administration has about 360,000 employees, so it is a very large organization. When that happens, of course, you need to deal with administrative burdens and red tape and what have you.

So I am encouraging all of my fellow colleagues here, Republicans and Democrats, to make sure they vote for this bill, H.R. 1367, because our best fought for us, Mr. Chair, our best fought for us. It is time that our best take care of those who fought for us.

Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, right here, I congratulated our New England Patriots on winning their fourth Super Bowl championship. Today I am proud to share the excitement of my fellow Mainers to congratulate our Patriots on capturing their fifth world championship.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday night, more than 100 million football fans from around the world witnessed the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. Against an outstanding Atlanta Falcons team, our mighty Patriots battled back from 25 points down with only 17 minutes left to play.

Now, our Patriots, Mr. Speaker, showed the world what can be achieved if you work together and you never give up. We in Congress, all of us, can learn from that example.

Coach Belichick, you have earned your place in history as the greatest coach in NFL history. And co-captain Brady, you, sir, have earned your place as the greatest quarterback of all time.

Mr. Speaker, Maine is so proud of all of our New England Patriots, and I humbly congratulate them. I will see everybody on this team at the White House this spring.

``No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

``The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct.''

Mr. Speaker, a huge congratulations to the New England Patriots for winning Super Bowl XLIX--surgical passes from quarterback Tom Brady, a thunderous spike by tight end Rob Gronkowski, and a

crucial goal line interception by rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler.

Although our Patriots earned a thrilling fourth Super Bowl title, I also congratulate the Seattle Seahawks and their fans for battling until the very end of their terrific season.

Maine is Patriots nation. We appreciate hard work and results. In this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats engage in passionate debate on issues critically important to American families. We have been sent here to move the ball down the field together, to put points on the board for hardworking taxpayers.

Patriots fans, Seahawks fans, and families coast to coast deserve an effective government that solves our Nation's problems. Then we will have a healthy, growing economy with more jobs, fatter paychecks, and more freedom.

Here in this Chamber, we are all Patriots, we are all Americans, and we work for the people.

Mr. Speaker, those of us who have been blessed with children in the back of our minds always fear for their health and their safety. Maine is one of the safest States in America. Even so, our families have not been immune to the horror of child kidnapping, rape, and sex trafficking.

Two years ago, Maine State legislator Amy Volk had the courage to lead a very painful public discussion about the risk of human trafficking in Maine. Her persistence resulted in the awareness of this horrific violence waged against our children living in

Maine and those being brought to our State.

Yesterday, I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my Republican and Democrat colleagues in the House to unanimously pass the first of a dozen bills to fight the scourge of human trafficking in America.

As parents and as public officials, we owe it to our families to help our States and our local communities with stronger law enforcement and tougher criminal penalties for those who prey upon our children.

I ask our colleagues in the Senate to now do the same and to help rid this land of the unthinkable horrors of human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and, most importantly, of the underlying bill, H.R. 161, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act. I encourage all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, to support this important job creation bill.

The great State of Maine is home to the most skilled papermakers in the world. Even so, last year, mills in Bucksport, Old Town, and Millinocket closed, laying off 1,000 of our workers. Soon, a fourth mill, which is in Madison, will temporarily shut down, furloughing another 215 workers.

For each mill, the high cost of electricity to run its machinery was a primary reason for closure. Almost half the power plants in New England burn natural gas to generate electricity. We must allow the increased production and transportation of natural gas to drive down the cost of electric power and save our mills, our factories, and save our jobs.

Today, I am proud to cosponsor this new legislation in order to expedite the permitting to construct more and larger capacity natural gas pipelines throughout America. I ask my Republican and Democrat colleagues to band together in supporting this critically important jobs bill. It is the fair and the right thing to do.

Hardworking American taxpayers deserve a more effective government that works together to solve our serious problems. We have the responsibility and the authority to help our families live better lives, with fatter paychecks and more financial security. Let's get this done.

Mr. Speaker, compared to last summer, hardworking Maine families are saving $20 with every fill-up of their vehicles. The $1,000 annual savings is buying almost 2 months of groceries for a family of four.

This winter, many of our families are saving an additional $1,000 because the cost of heating oil has plummeted. That is another 2 months of groceries.

Last week, I was proud to join House Republicans and Democrats to finally approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Our families will have more money, have more jobs, and enjoy more freedom when America increases the production and transportation of all forms of domestic energy and do it in an environmentally sensitive way.

Increase production, and drive down price.

Now, the House has done its job to approve the Keystone pipeline. I respectfully ask the Senate to do the same; then together, we must ask the President to do his part.

It is the right thing to do for more jobs, fatter paychecks, and more security.

Mr. Speaker, for generations, the hardworking families of Maine's Second District have balanced their checkbooks at the kitchen table. It is time our Federal Government does the same.

A balanced budget amendment to our Constitution will finally force Washington to live within its means. This discipline will help end wasteful spending and enable our government to start paying down our $18 trillion national debt.

That will give job creators the confidence to expand their companies and to start new ones. More jobs, more freedom, less government dependency, that is what we all want for our kids.

Amending our Constitution will not be easy or quick, but we can start the process right now. With every Member of Congress supporting this crucial jobs bill, an institutional discipline to spend no more than we collect in taxes from American families is the commonsense, right thing to do. It will help ensure the financial security for our kids and our grandkids, and it will create jobs.