Maggie Goodlander

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of a remarkable American, Israel MacAllister Booth, the grandfather-in-law of my friend and our colleague Suhas Subramanyam. He was known to those who loved him as Mac.

Born in 1931, Mac Booth earned degrees in mechanical engineering and business from Cornell University. He went on to serve our Nation in the United States Air Force, and while stationed in Oklahoma, he met his beloved wife, Frances, his wife of more than 68 years.

In 1958, Mac joined the Polaroid Corporation and over the course of 37 years, he helped build that iconic American company. He was a tough and principled leader. He cared deeply about his people. He believed success should be earned through skill, merit, and hard work.

After retiring, he shared his hard-earned wisdom and experience as a lecturer to the next generation at Yale University.

I will talk about the place that Mac called home, Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. He loved his time with his family there where he hosted his friends. He took his grandchildren boating. He golfed well into his 80s.

Mac Booth's legacy lives on in his beloved family: his children, David, Tom, Molly, and Charlotte; his nine grandchildren, his six great-grandchildren, and his beloved wife, ``Dianne.''

His legacy lives on in all those who knew him and were blessed to know him and love him.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this bipartisan package of amendments, which includes an amendment I am proud to be leading alongside my colleague from New Hampshire, Congressman Pappas.

This amendment does an important thing for New Hampshire's veterans. We are home to more than 80,000 veterans in the Granite State.

We are the only State in the 48 continental States that doesn't have a full-service VA medical center. This gap has got to be addressed, and this amendment takes important steps to that end, to make sure that every veteran who has put their lives on the line for our country gets the healthcare they need, when they need it, and where they need it.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise today and join my colleagues from across America in support of what is a commonsense, bipartisan bill.

H.R. 4549 is a bill that will deliver a fair deal for America's rural small businesses and entrepreneurs by cutting red tape, delivering access to key Federal resources, and ensuring experienced and accountable representation and leadership within our government. It is a bill that will ensure the voices of rural America aren't just heard but are truly prioritized within our government.

Running a small business is really an act of faith. It is hard work, often brutally hard work, and it is extraordinarily important work because rural small businesses are the beating hearts of communities across America, and in every corner of my home State of New Hampshire. They are the backbone of our economy.

As I have worked alongside and as I have listened to and learned from rural small businesses across New Hampshire, from the family farmers of our north country to the manufacturers of our Monadnock region, and from the loggers of our upper valley to the small businesses of the Souhegan Valley, I have heard again and again that the Federal programs designed to help our rural small businesses are riddled with red tape, and they are often impossible to access.

I have heard again and again that the rules of the road are simply not written with the realities of rural America in mind, their challenges and the opportunities. That is not right, and it is our job as lawmakers to correct it.

In 1990, Congress created the Office of Rural Affairs within the Small Business Administration to tackle this problem set, but as we have seen over the past 35 years, the office is underperforming. It lacks experienced and accountable leadership, and the red tape is still very much there for the cutting.

So our bill is going to address these gaps in the law. It is going to require a senior leader with real experience in rural economic development to be at the helm and to be accountable to Congress and the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues from across this body and across our Nation to come together to deliver for our rural small businesses. They are the backbone of our economy, and they are the fabric of American life. This bipartisan bill, the Office of Rural Affairs Enhancement Act, is going to go a long way to delivering for them.

Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.