Political Quotes

“I am thrilled to rise today to speak on behalf of my amendment which will remove unnecessary, redundant, and burdensome regulations from our sea urchins and sea cucumbers industry in the great State of Maine. Now, we have some of the most hardworking people, Mr. Chair, in our State, and some of them--about 600 or so of them--along with the processing part brave the cold, dark waters of the great State of Maine and dive for sea urchins and cucumbers and harvest them on a regular basis year-round. It is a process that is dangerous, but these delicacies are sold all around the world, mostly in the Far East, and we need to make sure our government helps these individuals work this terrific fishery that has been doing so well in the past. Now, I want to thank my colleague, Chellie Pingree, who represents the First District. I represent the Second District of Maine. She has been very helpful. We have worked together for quite some time on this issue in a bipartisan way to make sure, Mr. Chairman, that we don't have too many regulations that are unnecessary and expensive such that we can make sure this part of our fishery is healthy and goes forward. So, again, I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, very much your giving me this opportunity to speak on behalf of my amendment. Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chairman, I have no other speakers present at this time, and I yield back the balance of my time.”