Category Politics

Feb 10 2015

News Flash from Washington

As per my posting last night, the office of Congressman Poliquin has sent out a presser announcing that he is co-sponsoring H.R. 143, the Patient Freedom Act, this morning.  Here is a copy of the email I received this morning.

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Bruce Poliquin agreed to become a cosponsor of H.R. 143, the Patient Freedom Act. This bill will repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate. Congressman Poliquin released the following statement:

“I’m proud to help repeal ObamaCare’s penalizing individual mandate. Our hard-working families should not be fined for opting not to purchase a health insurance plan that does not fit their budget or health care needs.

“I will closely monitor this bill as it makes its way to the House floor. As with previous bills which I have already supported or cosponsored, such as the repeal of the ObamaCare 30-hour work week rule and the medical device tax, I will continue to fight to eliminate the parts of ObamaCare that are limiting choices for our families and killing jobs in our Second Congressional District and throughout America.

“In the meantime, I will continue to push for the best solution to remove big government from our health insurance industry and encourage the free-market to provide our families with the health care choices they want at costs they can afford. We must fix the mess that ObamaCare has created for our families and small businesses.”

 

Feb 9 2015

Poliquin to Co-Sponsor Bill on Individual Mandate

Tomorrow morning when bills are gaveled in at the House of Representatives, Representative Bruce Poliquin of Congressional District Two in the State of Maine will co-sponsor a bill to repeal the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act.  The bill, H.R. 143, The Patient Freedom Act, targets the Individual Mandate, which requires citizens to purchase health insurance, to be repealed after 2013. The bill will be posted on the Congressman’s website tomorrow morning but TMCV has obtained this link to the summary.

This is just the latest of several bills that Poliquin has co-sponsored or supported to go after the many egregious violations of the Constitution found in the Affordable Care Act. Poliquin has publicly stated that he wishes to repeal ObamaCare in its entirety and replace it with a free-market solution.  As he and his colleagues work to craft a plan to repeal and put healthcare back into the private sector, Poliquin has been going after parts of the government healthcare.

H.R 30, the Save American Workers Act, was a bill to restore the definition of a full time worker to a 40 hr week.  This passed easily with Poliquin’s support.  Poliquin will co-sponsor H.R. 160, Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015, and it will repeal the medical device tax.   Sources in Poliquin’s office say that more are on the way and Poliquin is looking forward to reviewing plans from Republicans on a free-market healthcare solution.  So be aware of updates.

Feb 9 2015

Rocky Start?

This past election, Bruce Poliquin pulled off a stunning victory.  Most of the political pundits, both here in the State and nationwide, did not offer much hope of the former State Treasurer defeating Emily Cain and her running mate, Blaine Richardson.  Yet despite their combined efforts, Bruce Poliquin emerged victorious in impressive fashion.  But now he must legislate.

From a Conservative standpoint, Representative Poliquin has had a good start.  With a Pro-Life vote, a very public grilling of the Head of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and several strong statements in between, he has been developing a very strong conservative resume at the Federal level.  Still many of us were more than dismayed last week when Poliquin voted no on a test vote to repeal ObamaCare.

The news has caused an instant furor here in the State of Maine. Many are calling for his head, decrying his betrayal of the voters.  Blaine Richardson is one of the loudest voices reminding everyone that they could have voted for the Cain/Richardson ticket…because we all know that repealing ObamaCare would be first on Emily Cain’s list of things to do in Washington.  Bruce Poliquin has offered his explanation and, frankly, I believe him, at least for now, and here’s why.

First, there were numerous occasions on the campaign trail that I witnessed the then candidate Poliquin say that he would vote to repeal ObamaCare if there was a quality plan to remove it; in other words, an exit strategy. Any good businessman will tell you that to make a major change in business philosophy or direction, you better have a good exit plan.

Any decisions made in haste, passion, and in a vacuum with no strategy to control the damages of the possible repercussions will be disastrous.  Like it or not, this President committed us to a monstrosity of a health plan in hopes that if it stayed in existence long enough, the Nation could not function without it. Poliquin simply wants to make sure we have the right exit strategy in place that does not damage hardworking Americans any further.

Grandstand politics has always bothered me and both Parties are guilty of this.  Speeches and votes to gain political points, to garner public opinion and yet with no true solutions to back them up are so prevalent in modern day politics. The Republicans must show they are capable of providing a solution that will not only end this travesty of ObamaCare but also heal the damage it has done to our Nation.  It takes courage to challenge the grandstanding of your own Party and call for a true solution.

Secondly, Bruce Poliquin is willing to face the music.  He has come back to Maine to answer the people and explain his vote.  I can assure you, if he was pulling a fast one on Mainers, he wouldn’t be traveling all over this great State, looking people in the eye, and answering their questions.  He’d be hiding in the shadows of Washington like his predecessor, Mike Michaud, was fond of doing.

Imagine my surprise, when I received a phone call from Representative Poliquin.  Imagine my further surprise when he did not ask me to write on his behalf or try to help him, through my column, to persuade any that might be disparaging his integrity at this point.  He simply wanted my opinion and an opportunity to answer any questions I had.

I was very direct and frank.  I expressed my concern that his comments on “repeal and replace” sounded uncomfortably like just another Republican version of government run healthcare.  I told him I was not in favor of that and believed the right solution is a free-market solution.  Bruce Poliquin assured me in the strongest of terms that he absolutely believes that the solution to healthcare is in the free-market and not the government.

He also agreed with me when I told him he must continue to be open and transparent with the people of Maine on the why and how of his votes in Washington.  Nancy Pelosi has already indicated that Emily Cain is her pick to challenge Bruce in the next election. It is still unclear whether Pelosi has tapped Blaine Richardson to be Cain’s running mate again.  At any rate, Poliquin must maintain this open dialogue he has established with the voters of Maine, as it is inevitable he will be under a steady barrage of negative press from the Maine media.

While some are trying to say that Poliquin has gotten off to a rocky start in Washington, I am convinced to the contrary.  I believe he has kept his word.  Bruce Poliquin hates ObamaCare and its effect on our Nation. He will vote to end this sad chapter in our Nation’s history when the right course of repeal is presented in Washington.

Feb 18 2014

Sponsoring Betrayal

 

 

Strange things, strange reports coming out of Augusta.  Yes, there are reports of unanimous bipartisan agreement on a bill; no, two bills in committee.  Democrats and Republicans alike found common ground to kill two bills in committee that would have increased the financial burden upon the people of Maine; more specifically, the hunters and sportsmen of Maine.

The first bill to discuss was LD 89.  This bill was put forth to establish a penalty for Mainers if they did not register their snow machines by a certain date.  The sole sponsor of the bill was Senator Doug Thomas.

If LD 89, An Act to Establish a Deadline for Snowmobile Registration, had been approved by the committee, it would have set a deadline for snow machine registration at December 31st and, if any Mainer had been so disobedient to mother government as to miss the set deadline, they would be punished with an additional $20 fine added to the registration fee.  This is just another blatant money grab by our government.  Thankfully, Paul Davis, the rest of the Republicans, and amazingly, all the Democrats on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee voted in unison to kill the bill.  At least someone had the backs of rural Maine.

But there’s more.  Doug Thomas has co-sponsored a bill with Dennis Keschl , LD 153, that would create a comprehensive hunting and fishing license.  Sound’s like a great idea at first glance and some sportsmen’s’ blogs were in support, but, when one delves into the bones of the bill, the details reveal just another money grab.

Further, research shows that hunters will lose more than they will gain. First of all, studies show that over 70% of hunters, a strong majority, only hunt deer, so for a majority of hunters, this is a  $13 increase. Bow hunters would be excluded from further deer hunting if they harvested a deer during bow season.

The long lists of items that are excluded from the “comprehensive” license belie the title.  One thing is sure; deer hunters would be targeted for an increase.  They are getting the proverbial…antler.

Remember hunters; there was a comprehensive license at one time.  Government kept cutting specific hunts out of that license bringing us to this point today.  They would repeat that process again.  It’s always about getting more of your money.

Again, thankfully, the Republicans and Democrats voted with one voice, in the IF&W, to kill this bill.  It is amazing that a Senator who is supposed to represent the voters in the foothills of the 100 mile wilderness would sponsor bills that could penalize businesses so integral to the 2nd District: hunting and snow machining.  Senator Thomas can find some solace in the fact that he had a unifying influence in Augusta.  He sponsored and co-sponsored bills that were so egregious and punitive to the people of Maine that there was unanimous and bi-partisan consent to kill the bills in order to protect the people of Maine.