PARIS — U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, got right down to business Saturday night at the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce annual Dinner and Awards Banquet at the Four Seasons Function Center.

“We need to make sure that we do not continue to go down the path to make it difficult to be successful, to make money and be profitable,” he told the 280 people in attendance. “We have this dark cloud over our economy. (Elected officials are) over-regulating us. They’re overtaxing us.”

The problems that face businesses can be fixed, Poliquin went on to say.

“I believe the way you get ahead and be successful in your business is you negotiate like heck … So when I’m representing you in Washington and it’s time to vote, I’ll work with anyone. I happen to be a Republican, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll go to the other side,” he said. “When you don’t have a paycheck, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat.”

He spent most of his about 35-minute off-the-cuff speech talking about his bipartisanship.

Poliquin said he is working with two congressmen who are Democrats on issues they both think need to be fixed — natural gas pipelines and the possibility of losing paper instructions for prescription medications, which he said would be detrimental to both paper mills and seniors.

He also said he didn’t vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act because there’s no solution to the insurance access problem.

“Until that happens, I’m not going to go for the 56th time to shut that down without a fix,” Poliquin said. “We took some hits on that, but I’ll tell you, we’re going down there to fix some problems and I’m proud I cast that vote.”

With nearly 300 folks in the room, Poliquin estimated that they own maybe 200 businesses that might each employ 10 people.

“I thank you for hiring our families because government doesn’t work well unless we have thriving families,” he said. “We should be doing everything in Washington to help you. I salute you right now.”

The banquet celebrated the chamber’s 2015 business awards, in which WOXO Radio/Gleason Media Services took Business of the Year. Rising Star, an award that recognizes new business, went to both Bearfoot Realty and Granite Ridge Estate and Barn. Vic Hodgkins, of WOXO Radio/Gleason Media Services, and Jim Cameron, of Papoose Pond Family Campground and Cabins, shared the Employee of the Year designation. Steve Veazey walked away with the award for Community Service for his work educating businesses.

The award winners were announced Jan. 5.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, was originally supposed to present the address but canceled because of a scheduling conflict.

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