Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those kind words. I would agree with him, Maine is the greatest State in the Union. I know he didn't say that, but I know he meant that.

Mr. Speaker, Maine is the home of the most honest, hardest working people you can find anywhere in this country. We grew up in a very resilient, independent time in the State of Maine, and we cared for our neighbors and friends because it is compassionate to make sure you extend a helping hand.

Mr. Speaker, my 90-year-old mother was a terrific nurse. She had a career in nursing, caring for thousands of folks in nursing homes and hospitals throughout central Maine. My dad, who is now 88, was a beloved seventh grade social studies teacher and a coach and a basketball official for 30 years throughout the State.

I was raised in a very big-hearted Franco-American family devoted to helping others, and that is why I work so hard to make sure government does the same thing.

I have got some great news for folks across America who are looking to escape poverty and work their way up the ladder of independence. For 2 years, I have been pushing very hard to include job training, commonsense job training, community service, and work requirements for able-bodied adults with no disabilities themselves, no young kids at home, no elderly parents they are caring for, in order to receive food stamps.

We have got to be compassionate, Mr. Speaker, to help folks escape poverty instead of being trapped in a government program that has no end to it. The role of government, Mr. Speaker, is not to keep folks trapped in poverty and help make them comfortable living in it, but to try to give them a helping hand so they can learn a job skill, get a job, and live better lives with more independence.

Now, my work requirement, against what the media has reported and continues to report, has no cuts to food stamps by imposing these work requirements. If the benefits are not used because someone got a job, they are simply recycled back into job training.

And if you are pregnant or caring for young kids or you have a disability yourself, again, you are exempt from these requirements. But if you are able to work, we need to be compassionate and require people to work to lift themselves out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, there is one other part of the farm bill that I am really proud of that is included in the bill, and that is one that helps rural Maine and rural America. For the first time, locally grown fruits and vegetables can now be frozen or dried or pureed in order to qualify for school lunches and school snacks.

That means taxpayer dollars are able to buy foods that are just as nutritious as those that are fresh, save a lot of money, and make sure our kids can eat in a healthy way year round, and it also helps our local farmers.

I have one son, Mr. Speaker, who is 27, and I raised him from the time he was in diapers. Nothing was more important than making sure he had nutritious food on the table to eat. This helps us do that.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage everybody to vote ``yes'' for this farm bill.

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