Chellie Pingree

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

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

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

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

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

Whether it was a senior citizen or a hardworking lobsterman, they could participate in my campaign.

As the Speaker of the House, I am engaged in recruiting candidates to run for the legislature.

I think you and others portrayed this accurately in the sense that we have gotten into an arms race here.

I think there is someone on the second panel who can probably answer that more exactly.

These are basically the same kind of system. They are voluntary systems.

What this is attempting to address, many people don't have business contacts, or they didn't serve in politics before.

And I would just add, if I may, part of the design of this system is to address one of your concerns.

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

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

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.

I am a staunch supporter of this bill and will summarize my testimony and submit my written remarks.

Thank you again to the Chair for holding these hearings and for using your years of expertise.

This seems like a problem that should be simple to solve.

Thank you for your testimony, which was very interesting.

We cannot undo what has already been done, but by restricting the use of antibiotics to people and animals that are truly sick, we can make sure that future generations have access to a safe food supply and effective antibiotic therapies.

I sincerely look forward to hearing more about this bill today and hearing from our witnesses.

Our Representatives in Congress need our help in resisting the financial and political power of the insurance lobby.

We need the Federal Government to step in and level the playing field and help out states like ours.

If we are to build a budget that reflects our priorities, it is essential to put all of the true costs on the table to begin with.

I am pleased that President Obama is practicing truth in budgeting, particularly when it comes to the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the increasing transparency in our budget process.