My experiences in Maine really brought me to understand how much this can change a legislative body and how much it can change all of the members of that body.

She found people who would give her a $5 contribution to qualify her for running for office.

She knocked on doors, she went to the fish piers, she went to the grocery store.

More importantly, after I qualified for clean elections, I could spend the majority of my time talking to my constituents.

But again, you have to be--become a qualifying candidate. So you still have to find people to write you a $5 check.

The idea of raising funds, even the small amount necessary for a state house campaign, is daunting for many people.

Sometimes that is harder than you think.

Overall, the Maine Clean Elections Act has been a tremendous success.

I would say these are basically the same kind of system. They are voluntary systems.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. This is a rare honor.

She serves as the speaker of the house.

[t]he bill would establish a caregiver program to help family and non-family members who provide care for disabled, ill, or injured veterans.

Of all those hearings, the one that stands out most in my mind because it was so tragic and so preventable was the hearing that looked at the number of homebound individuals and elderly, sick individuals in nursing homes who died because…

What will you do to make sure that we do not have these egregious gaps in communication?

I really urge you to take a look at this. We need to be willing to use all the tools that we have.

What will you do to ensure that all resources are brought to bear by States, by local governments, and by the Federal Government to ensure that we never again see homebound elderly individuals who are incapable of evacuating themselves, or…

I, for one, accept the medical advice we heard that closing the border was not the answer.

I am concerned that the Department seems to be very hesitant to use technology more fully to try to identify travelers.