Category Politics

Feb 12 2016

Review of Congressman Poliquin’s Week in Congress

 

 

Review of Congressman Poliquin’s Week in Congress

 

WASHINGTON – This week, Maine’s Second District Congressman, Bruce Poliquin, spoke out against President Obama’s $4.1 trillion budget proposal for the 2017 Fiscal Year that never balances, reacted to the National Park Service’s response to his and Senators Collins’ and King’s letter to President Obama concerning the designation of a national monument in the Katahdin region, congratulated an Old Town High School student’s praise-worthy efforts to raise awareness of the challenges of autism, and introduced companion legislation in the House to Senator Collins’ bill to help protect seniors from investment fraud.  Here’s a recap:

 

 

His Costliest Budget To Date

 

On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled the final and costliest budget of his presidency. Congressman Poliquin released the following statement after receiving the President’s $4.1 trillion proposal:

 

“Not a single one of President Obama’s proposed budgets have balanced—ever,” said Congressman Poliquin.  “This final spending plan from the President is a wish list of progressive policies that makes up his largest budget proposal to date, with $2.5 trillion in new spending and $3.4 trillion in new taxes in the next 10 years.

 

“As the former State Treasurer of Maine and a small business owner, I know the kind of fiscal discipline that is needed to grow jobs and reduce debt.  Our State and our country do not need more debt, more spending, and more irresponsible policies from an out of control Washington.  We need a realistic budget that balances and that reflects the needs of hardworking Mainers.  We need policies that will create jobs and provide more opportunity for our local businesses to grow and hire more workers.  This budget accomplishes none of these priorities.”

 

 

 

Poliquin Statement on Response to Joint Letter to President Obama on National Monument Designation

 

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Congressman Bruce Poliquin have received aresponse from Jonathan B. Jarvis, the Director of the National Park Service, to the letter they sent to President Barack Obama regarding the possible designation of land in the Katahdin region as a national monument last November.  The response from National Park Service director largely ignored the focus and purpose of the Maine delegation’s original letter to the President, which expressed the delegation’s serious reservations and significant concerns after learning that President Obama may designate a national monument in Maine’s Katahdin region.

 

Congressman Poliquin released the following statement in response to Director Jarvis’ letter:
“This letter is concerning on many levels,” said Congressman Poliquin. “First, I was extremely disappointed that this letter came from Director Jarvis, rather than the President himself. It shows a complete lack of interest and concern from the White House for the residents of the Katahdin region.  Second, Director Jarvis’ letter failed to address any of the national monument concerns our letter laid out. Third, this letter was sent to me the very same day that the National Park Service also announced that it has a maintenance backlog of more than $11 billion, including nearly $70 million owed to Maine’s Acadia National Park.  It is irresponsible governing to add a national monument to our 408 existing national park service units when we cannot even afford to take care of the one’s we’ve already got.

 

“I must emphasize that the designation of a national monument by the President, which bypasses the democratic process and input from local constituents, is entirely separate from the actual creation of a national park, which allows for local officials and residents to weigh in before it is created through the normal legislative process.  That is why I introduced legislation to require any national monument designation by the President to first be approved by the governor and state legislature where the land is located. Any process to incorporate federal land in Maine must have strong support from the local community.”

 

 

 

Maine High Schooler Recognized for Service

 

This week, Connor Archer, 17, of Stillwater was recognized for his youth volunteer service in Maine and dedication to his community by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.  Congressman Bruce Poliquin of Maine’s Second District released the following statement:
“I am so proud of Connor for his hard work to spread awareness and to educate our communities in Maine about autism and the challenges that so many people face as a result of this condition,” said Congressman Poliquin.  “Because of his efforts and dedication, Connor has raised more than $12,000 for organizations that aid individuals with such needs.

“Connor, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old, is a shining example of what it means to be a dedicated person of service in Maine’s communities.  I am thrilled that Connor has been formally recognized for his work and hope that he will continue to be a leader and an important part of the efforts to help those who face these challenges.”

 

 

 

Poliquin Helps Lead Efforts on Companion Legislation in House to Senator Collins’ Bill to Protect Seniors

 

This week, Congressman Bruce Poliquin joined Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09) in introducing a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to Senator Susan Collins’ Senior $afe Act of 2015. This legislation will provide important protections for seniors to combat investment fraud, an enormous abuse of the investment market that exploits about one-fifth of investors aged 65 or older.  Congressman Poliquin released the following statement:

 

“It is vital that our seniors are provided the necessary resources and protections against investment fraud perpetrators, who are estimated to cost our seniors more than $2.9 billion annually through illegal financial abuses,” said Congressman Poliquin. “The seniors in our Second District have worked their whole lives to build their savings.  It is absolutely unacceptable and deplorable for their hard-earned investments to be so egregiously abused by common criminals.

 

“As the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, working to protect seniors from financial exploitation and fraud is one of my top priorities,” said Senator Collins.  “Maine’s innovative Senior$afe program, pioneered by Maine Securities Administrator Judith Shaw, serves as the model for the bipartisan Senior$afe Act that I was proud to introduce with Senator McCaskill last fall. Our bipartisan legislation would put in place a commonsense plan to help protect American seniors from financial fraud.  I am pleased that Congressman Poliquin and Congresswoman Sinema have introduced the House companion to my bill, and I look forward to working together to get this important bill passed into law.”

 

The Senior$afe Act is a bipartisan bill that will enable financial institutions to report suspected instances of financial exploitation by an investment finance predator to the proper agencies to combat the abuse.  It also promotes training financial institution employees to identify suspected financial fraud.  This bill would encourage banks, credit unions, investment advisors, and broker-dealers to report suspected financial fraud targeting senior citizens to the proper authorities.

 

Feb 8 2016

The Red County Caucus Endorses Ted Cruz

 

The members of “The Red County Caucus” announce their endorsement for the Republican nomination in the 2016 Presidential election.

 

In 2008, it was Piscataquis County’s singular status as the only Red County in all of New England that caused then Representative Paul Davis to begin thinking of forming an activist group that was indicative of this unique achievement. After finding three other Conservatives who shared a commonality and saw the potential of his idea, Davis forged ahead and formed “The Red County Caucus”. The RCC, as some have called the Red Caucus, is made up of those same four founding members: now Senator Paul Davis (R- Sangerville), former Senator Doug Smith (R-Dover-Foxcroft), former Representative Pete Johnson (R-Greenville), and Andy Torbett, a local Conservative activist and columnist.

 

In 2010, The Red County Caucus made its first impact upon the Maine political landscape with its endorsement of then candidate Paul R. LePage. The RCC endorsement is viewed by many as a pivotal moment in the 2010 primary race that helped to propel the Mayor of Waterville to win the Republican gubernatorial nomination and eventually the Governorship. To this day, those who claim to stand for conservative principles must pass the litmus test of the Red County.

 

It is with these principles in mind, that The Red County Caucus unanimously endorses Senator Ted Cruz to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2016. We find that Mr. Cruz is a man of strong moral fiber, a man of steadfast conviction, honest, unashamed of his God, his faith, and his family. He has proven that it these things that he treasures above all and, therefore, we stand convinced that he would tirelessly defend those selfsame treasures that we also hold so dear.

 

He has defended the precepts of the Constitution and our Free Republic before the Supreme Court with tenacity, prevailing against all odds. Then in the United States Senate, despite a barrage of criticism from the media and members of his own Party, he has continued to defend the God-given Constitutional rights of all Americans.

 

Furthermore, We, The Red County Caucus, believe firmly that the solutions for a return to greatness in our beloved Nation are not found in one man. Those solutions are found in the citizens of this great Republic whose only impediment to success is a government that restricts our freedom and does not honor our rights. We believe that Senator Ted Cruz, as the next President of the United States of America, will work to lessen the power of government and return that power where it belongs, with “We The People.”

 

The Honorable Paul Davis-Maine State Senator District 4

The Honorable Peter Johnson- former Maine State Representative

The Honorable Doug Smith- former Maine State Senator

Andy Torbett-The Maine Conservative Voice

Feb 4 2016

“Trumpertantrum”

 

It’s not mine. I can’t claim it but the title is certainly befitting of the current state of the Republican Presidential primary. How can one candidate’s behavior, which is more befitting of a toddling tyrant whose diapers are oozing dangerously beyond capacity, influence the integrity of otherwise dignified, accomplished individuals? It seems when the “Trump-slinging” started other candidates have decided to denigrate themselves and join the “Trumpertantrums”.

 

At the center of this latest Trump sideshow is an accusation from Ben Carson that Ted Cruz employed dirty tricks when a staffer from Cruz’s campaign passed on information from CNN that Carson would be terminating his campaign after Iowa. Ted Cruz and his staffer have both since apologized for the indiscretion of trusting CNN as a valid news source, but Donald Trump, ever the opportunist, is demanding the results of Iowa’s caucus be nullified…and we all know the best way to win an election is to keep firing the results until you get the one you want.

 

The fact that Trump has appointed himself the new champion of the dignity of Ben Carson is laughable, at best, when just mere hours ago he was trampling Carson’s name through the mud with the usual Trumponian vigor. While it truly pains me to say this as I have been a supporter, Doctor Carson is not the innocent victim in this that he is portrayed to be either. A quick look at the timeline of events leading to this so-called “election fraud”, pens a telling narrative.

 

The Sunday before the Iowa Caucus, the campaign manager for Ben Carson announces that he is switching to Ted Cruz.

Carson then announces on Monday he will not be going to NH, but home to Florida to get “a fresh set of clothes”.

Later that same day, the entire staff of Carson’s Super Pac folds tent and moves into the Cruz camp.

CNN, the same day, speculates on air, citing all of the above along with the info that Carson had no more campaign stops scheduled in his calendar, concludes that Carson is dropping out after Iowa.

Then Marco Rubio’s, yes he did, and Ted Cruz’s campaigns made the mistake of trusting CNN as a valid news source (my sarcasm inserted) and reposted the “news” hoping to capture some of Carson’s followers. In other words, they acted like they were campaigning to win.

 

Ted Cruz won. That is really the sole reason for Trump’s sudden piety. He lost, he’s sore, he’s pouting, and he wants a mulligan. Had the Carson “misinformation” worked in Trump’s favor, be assured he would be standing arms folded smug in the face of the accusations saying, “Yep, I did it. I won. You lost. Now, Bye Bye,” with no apologies forthcoming.

 

The “Trumpilations” of the Donald’s behavior should come as no surprise to anyone, but the influence his “Trumpertantrums” have had on other candidates is disheartening. Ben Carson has resorted to questioning the validity of Cruz’s faith, which if the brilliant neurosurgeon would just take a breath, he would remember that for a Christian to judge another man’s heart is scripturally forbidden. Marco Rubio, after a surprising performance in Iowa, has allowed himself to behave like a juvenile eagerly running to sling his share of “Trump” on the Cruz bandwagon as it passes him by. Can we please, just forego the “Trumpertantrums” and, instead, focus on the competition and debate of the issues of a Presidential primary?

Jan 28 2016

Maine Tax Entitlement Reform

http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2015/12/10/tax-entitlement-reform-question-heads-toward-maine-ballot

Tax, Entitlement Reform Question Heads Toward Maine Ballot
December 10, 2015

ANDY TORBETT

Andy Torbett (meconservativevoice@gmail.com) writes from Atkinson, Maine. (read full bio)

Maine voters will get a chance to vote directly on significant tax and entitlement spending reforms proposed by Gov. Paul LePage (R) and blocked by lawmakers, if a referendum question currently being circulated makes it to the ballot in November 2016.

The proposed ballot amendment, as currently written, includes gradually eliminating the state’s income tax over a three-year period and reinstating work requirements for individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) entitlements.

Tax Cuts, Economic Growth

Liam Sigaud, a policy analyst with the Maine Heritage Policy Center, says allowing taxpayers to keep more of their money helps everybody in the state.

“Government is often inefficient and wasteful, as Maine’s oversized welfare system demonstrates,” Sigaud said. “Reducing the income tax and enacting substantive reforms to welfare programs would allow hard-working Mainers to keep more of what they earn, spurring economic growth in their communities.”

Reform ‘Desperately Needed’

Sigaud says streamlining the state’s entitlement system will help focus the program on helping the truly needy.

“Welfare reform is desperately needed in Maine,” Sigaud said. “The people’s referendum would, among others things, require able-bodied adults to seek work before qualifying for welfare benefits; prohibit TANF spending on tobacco, liquor, and other non-essentials; and eliminate welfare benefits for noncitizens. These reforms will help the poor to climb out of poverty, while saving taxpayers millions per year.”

Jonathan Williams, vice president of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Center for State Fiscal Reform, says income tax reform is a no-brainer for Mainers.

“Eliminating the income tax would unquestionably benefit the citizens of Maine and certainly allow for Maine to grow a more prosperous free-market economy,” Williams said. “State income taxes are some of the most damaging forms of taxes that state policymakers can use to raise revenue. Income taxes inherently create a barrier between work and reward, harming economic productivity.”

Andy Torbett (meconservativevoice@gmail.com) writes from Atkinson, Maine.