Two Poliquin bills advance in bipartisan financial package headed to Trump

Two pieces of legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) made it into a larger bipartisan financial package that is being sent to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

Provisions from both the Senior Safe Act of 2017, H.R. 3758, and the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act, H.R. 1312, were included in the bipartisan Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, S. 2155.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved S. 2155 with a 258-159 vote on May 22. The U.S. Senate had approved the bill on March 14, 67-31.

Rep. Poliquin on March 2, 2017 introduced the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act to streamline the resources available to small businesses from the Government-Business Forum on Capital Formation, an annual summit that brings together U.S. securities law experts to make recommendations to help small businesses access capital, according to the congressman’s staff.

Specifically, H.R. 1312 would amend the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980 with respect to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) forum to review the current status of problems and programs relating to small business capital formation, according to the congressional record summary.

H.R. 1312 would require the SEC to review the forum’s findings and recommendations and then issue a public statement that assesses the forum’s work and discloses any subsequent action the SEC intended to take, although such action wouldn’t be required.

The goal, according to a statement from Rep. Poliquin’s office, is to improve the forum’s effectiveness and help the SEC focus on the capital needs of small businesses.

The House in May 2017 passed H.R. 1312 406-0 before sending it to the U.S. Senate, which took language from it and incorporated the measure into S. 2155.

In September 2017, Rep. Poliquin was the original cosponsor of the Senior Safe Act of 2017, H.R. 3758, the House version of a measure first introduced in the Senate in January 2017 as the Senior$afe Act of 2017, S. 223, by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

“Maine is home to the oldest population in the nation and, unfortunately, so many of our seniors fall victim to financial abuse and fraud,” said Rep. Poliquin.

The congressman added, “Maine’s seniors, including my own mother who was a nurse and my father who taught in Central Maine for years, should have the protections and support they need when financial criminals attempt to do them harm.”

Sen. Collins, chair of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, authored S. 223 with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to help protect American seniors from financial corruption, and to provide support to regulators, financial institutions and legal organizations to educate their employees about how to identify and prevent financial abuse of senior citizens, according to information provided by Sen. Collins’ staff.

“I have been committed to fighting fraud and financial exploitation targeted at older Americans,” Sen. Collins said on May 22 about her leadership role on the Senate’s special aging committee.

“The Senior $afe Act, based on Maine’s innovative program, will empower and encourage our financial service representatives to identify warning signs of common scams and help prevent seniors from becoming victims,” the senator added.

Rep. Poliquin acknowledged Sen. Collins’ guidance on the bill and said this week he was “very pleased we are getting this important bill to the President’s desk.”