BANGOR, Maine — There were supposed to be many more than 23 people at Saturday morning’s Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce hot stove session, but Friday’s marathon state legislative session kept local representatives and senators in Augusta.
One well-known politician was able to make the Chamber’s final hot stove session of the season at Eastern Maine Community College’s Rangeley Hall, however.
U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud joined local businesspeople and civic officials to update them on current legislation affecting Bangor, Penobscot County and Maine, as well as listen to questions and concerns.
Michaud talked about presenting President Barack Obama with a pair of New Balance athletic shoes and used the presentation to talk to the president about making the U.S. Department of Defense comply with a law requiring U.S. servicemen and women to be outfitted with domestically produced clothing and footwear.
The “Berry Amendment” law has been on the books for decades and requires the Department of Defense to buy certain categories of products from American companies. Michaud has introduced an act to clarify the Berry Amendment and specifically include footwear among those products.
Michaud also recently met with representatives of Perfect Fit, a leather goods company in Corinna that has developed anti-radio frequency wallets and also produces leather wallets for law enforcement agency badges and IDs. He plans to meet with Janet Napolitano, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and other U.S. officials to urge them to outfit their employees with the Maine-made goods.
Michaud would like to see companies such as New Balance have enhanced chances to win contracts to supply American soldiers’ footwear.
Other topics concerned a review of the past week’s legislative session in Augusta, which stretched into the 2 a.m. hour Saturday morning, and news about a supplemental budget; the east-west highway; taxes; the Fund for a Healthy Maine; General Assistance funding’s impact on local taxpayers; and the impact of any changes in MaineCare funding on private health insurance costs.
Shawn Yardley, Bangor’s director of health and community services, urged Michaud to continue to put pressure on the White House to increase or at least sustain Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding.
“That’s the one time people don’t complain about waiting to see me, because our office is warm and they are much colder in their homes,” Yardley said.
Yardley said recent cuts in LIHEAP funding have created life-and-death situations for some.
“Our entire New England delegation is behind increasing LIHEAP funding,” said Michaud. “President Obama’s justification for cuts is that 62 percent of the country heats with natural gas, but 80 percent of Maine uses oil.”
Michaud said he has asked for a meeting with White House staff to look at how LIHEAP funds are distributed.
Business owner Dan Tremble, who also is chairman of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and vice chairman of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, suggested creating low- or no-interest loans for lower-income homeowners who want to convert their home heating systems to natural gas.
John Porter, president and CEO of the Bangor Chamber, said the east-west highway political wrangling broke down into a partisan issue, but the vote passed and the latest idea is for a “3-plus-1” lane system which would alternate the second lane between the east and west portions of the highway to save on construction costs for a four-lane highway.
Yardley and Bangor City Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick lauded Cary Weston, councilor and Bangor mayor, for his work in trying to avert a proposed 40 percent cut in state refunding of General Assistance expenditures by major Maine cities such as Bangor and Portland, which act as service centers for surrounding towns and communities, above a certain figure.
T he state now reimburses 50 percent of the amount cities spend on General Assistance up to $750,000. Above that figure, Bangor is reimbursed 90 percent. The most recent proposal in a budget passed by the Maine House and Senate, but vetoed by Gov. Paul LePage, is a cut from 90 to 85 percent.
“Cary has done a great job for us and has been tireless while trying to address that potential crippling cut,” said Yardley.
Mike is running for re=election so he might spend a day or 2 a month in Maine. Mike’s only value is to agree with everything Obama says.
He has done an awful lot of good for the veterans . Dosen’t have a problem spending ( investing ) our tax dollars on VA benefits in return for their and their families support at the polls. Funny how well intended folks can do a lot of good with other peoples money ! Takes a lot of thought to get away with it.
Every dime of my tax money that helps vets is money well spent.I’ve asked for help from Mike’s office to assist a vet.They couldn’t have been more responsive or helpful.Many thanks.
I agree that he spends time helping vets. But then the rest of the time pandering to the left.. He need to go.
My Dad is a service officer for the VFW. Mike certainly grabs plenty of limelight and photo ops at the network of new VA clinics but the veteran service organization members at Togus are less enthusiastic about him. He doesn’t make any big waves where it counts. A lot of his “fighting” for vets is window dressing.
I’m surprised Nancy Pelosi’s apron strings reach all the way to Bangor? She says jump and Mike says “I’ll vote the way you want Nancy, just keep that money comming”.
Re Davidvsgoliath: should Rep. Michaud not spend most of his time in DC but instead skip votes and committee mtgs. to satisfy you? If his GOP opponent Kevin Raye had his way, there would be no same day voter registration and voting. And what was stopping our state legislators from staying up late to appear on Sat. morning in Bangor? A disgraceful absence of all but Mike.
Raye has already gone as far as he can go in his political career!
Weston is not the mayor of Bangor. No such position exists.
Weston is the Mayor. Gerry Palmer was the previous Mayor.
Neither is (or was) mayor. Again, the position does not exist in the city charter, as Bangor last had a mayor in the early 1930s.
That’s funny considering Mike showed up !
This paper needs to stop making references to Bangors “Mayor” . At this point, it’s lousy reporting to keep doing so.
My (previous) comment is awaiting approval by a moderator, go figure???
Nothing in there but facts and a long time disagreeable personal opinion, but then to post it would be showing the true facts something this median is not akin to doing.
Please help me vote this guy out in November!
Once again,Mike serves the people of Maine.Thanks to Mike and his staff.
“Serves the people of Maine” yah right, you mean “Services a closet crowd of people in Maine”
Closets are made for more than just hanging clothes and a place to put your shoes.
“If the shoe fits ,,, wear it Proudly”
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
Wait, this comment will need to be approved by a moderator first. Oh Hum, Job!
Nice to see you hate veterans.Classy.
While I may not know Michaud personally I am impressed with what has been a seemingly overlooked issue that he keeps harping on, namely the Berry Amendment. The Berry Amendment would go a long way in restoring the various domestic manufacturing of a lot of goods, and service’s, now outsourced overseas. That the House and the Senate both keep overlooking this everytime someone keeps pointing out the need to obtain goods at the lowest posssible cost, and forgetting that the good’s, when produced here, would actually beneft the Country as a whole, is a testament to the power of the ‘cost fanatic’s’ and the power of the campaign dollar.
Beside’s the DoD, the GSA is the largest purchaser of goods and services to the government. That the GSA has a Berry-type Amendment they are bound to comply with, and have been so required to since the late 80’s, at almost every turn the GSA provides a way out, thru what’s known as a ‘Lowest Cost Waiver’, to avoid purchasing domestic products, rationalizing the cost’s vs the political fallout of not buying from some campaign contributor’s front company or supporter. What is needed right now, and Michaud is so politically positioned to do, is investigate and expose these type’s of waiver’s that are literally stripping the country bare of the economic needs’, which lead to new, start-up and existing business development opportunity’s, to manufacture goods and service’s that the Country needs and purchase’s on a daily basis. That the GSA was so publicly seen by us all in how they spend our tax dollars, in Las Vegas no less, should be more than enough reason to send Michaud out, and in this case, on a ‘mad dog’ expedition. The last time this type of crap was seen was when the BP mess in the Gulf found the Interior Dept’s Mineral Management Service, those folk’s who supposedly both monitor and enforce the drilling safety reg’s and collected the oil and gas royalty fee’s from the gas and oil companies, were out partying in Denver, using Coke and hooker’s supplied by any number of middlemen. Well, we all saw how well the DOI and the GOP-lead House Commerce Comittee did, didn’t we ? If there was ever a reason, and the opportunity for a wholesale housecleaning, Las Vegas and a Cabinet-level review of the Berry Amendment’s compliance would seem to be what’s called for.
Glad too see that he is pushing the “Barry Amendment”, now if he would find out why the Obama Administration is allowing construction job for infrastructure to go to Chinese Companies?
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-bridges-roads-built-chinese-firms-14594513
Michaud has no clue, or interest in economic development, never has, & never will…!
For you to say that I hate veterans is a complete fallacious attempt to derail me from the true facts that I present. I probably have more veterans akin to my family than you could ever wish you have so don’t go Veteran B/S on me. IT IS PRECIOUSLY BECAUSE OF THAT FACT, THAT I write my credible writings here, to “troll” for verfim just like Yourself. So to you you, GPBand,
face the facts for the truth for what they are and if you have to hide yourself behind the MaineStream mantra, then I have made my point , Preciously, Clearly similar to one shot, one Kill.
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Shalom to those that Know, all others, you might just want to “Duck and Cover”