Category: Jessica Sperlongano
Conservation Bill Moves to the Senate Floor
WASHINGTON, March 16-A measure that would use federal funds to purchase and protect some of New Hampshire’s coastline from development is one step closer to enactment after the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved it Thursday.
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Program, known as CELP, introduced in June by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., would award grants to states with approved coastal management programs or protected coastal areas called national estuarine research reserves,. The money would come from the Department of Commerce.
The Senate will take up the bill after next week’s recess.
“I am pleased that the Senate Commerce Committee has again approved this legislation, as they did in the past Congress, and look forward to working with my colleagues to move it along this year,” Gregg said in a statement.
This is the third Congress that has considered the bill, but, unlike the previous two measures, the new one would ensure that the lands are protected for at least four years, instead of having to be renewed every year. If the measure passes, the program will receive $60 million annually for the next four years.
The bill, co-sponsored by Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., was supported Thursday by Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., who said in a statement that it would help provide future resources for New Hampshire’s Great Bay estuary.
“[It] is one of the most diverse ecosystems of fish, wildlife and plants in the nation – a result, in large part, to our state’s tradition of strong environmental stewardship,” said Sununu, who is a member of the committee. “Unwavering dedication to conservation at the local and state level and the availability of federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection (CELP) program funds have helped protect this sensitive coastal region from the pressures of commercial and residential development.”
Gregg, in his statement, said, “We have been successful in helping several New Hampshire projects through federal dollars secured through the CELP program, including Massacre Marsh in Rye, Hurd Farm in Hampton and over 2,100 acres at Moose Mountain.” The program also has helped fund the conservation of Sagamore Creek in Portsmouth and Piscassic Greenway in Newfields and has protected nearly 3,000 acres of land in New Hampshire.
“Recognizing the important and irreplaceable attributes of New Hampshire’s diverse environment and ecosystems, we started the CELP program back in 2001 and believe that Congress must pass this legislation to further build upon the program’s success,” Gregg said. According to Gregg, the program aims to protect coastal areas that are being threatened by development and has already invested more than $177 million toward 119 conservation projects in 25 coastal states.
The New Hampshire Coastal Program is one of nearly a dozen institutions that supports this measure. Ted Diers, the coastal programs director for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said in a statement that over the past five years the state’s coastal towns have spent more than $48 million on land conservation. He said the coastal program also has identified 6,000 more acres that could be conserved with additional funds.
“CELP is one of the few funding sources that are available to protect such lands which, given their proximity to tidal waters, are rapidly rising in price beyond what local communities can afford,” Diers said. Without Gregg’s program, he added, many acres of New Hampshire’s coastline that are currently protected would have already seen development.
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Bradley Stresses the Importance of Oral Health Care
WASHINGTON, March 14-Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., in introducing a resolution praising the Academy of General Dentistry, said Tuesday the importance of oral health care is often overlooked.
"When we talk about access to health care, people generally tend to think of hospitals, doctors' offices, heart disease or cancer, or any number of other maladies," Bradley said at a press conference in the Capitol. "But when we do that, we often overlook the importance of oral health."
Bradley said that he was proud to go to the dentist twice a year to get his teeth cleaned, recognizing how important preventive care can be.
Bradley joined Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, to announce a resolution they co-wrote regarding the importance of oral health. "Congressman Allen and I thought it was appropriate to introduce this resolution to cite the academy's work and state how important dental health is," Bradley said after the press conference. He also said that it was great to find bipartisan opportunities to work with representatives from neighboring districts.
The Academy of General Dentistry's advocacy for an effective oral health system is "critically important," Bradley said. He also said that "poor dental health can lead to a number of other health care issues that become more and more difficult to treat" and add to the overall cost of the health care system.
Simple at-home treatments can prevent costly problems later on, according to Bradley, who said, "I remember my mother telling me, floss every night, brush twice a day." He said that oral health diseases are widespread and can afflict millions of people if left untreated.
"I'm pleased to have with me, the original copy of the resolution," Bradley said at the press conference. "It recognizes not only the academy's role in promoting oral health in our country, but goes on to state that good oral health is an integral part of our national health care needs."
The Academy of General Dentistry is focused on continuing education and requires that members put in at least 75 hours of dental education a year. "Just because you graduate from dental school doesn't mean your education's over with; it's a lifelong process," said William Mark Donald, the academy's legislative and governmental affairs chairman.
The academy is an association of 35,000 general dentists across the United States and Canada. Most of the dentists who are members are running small businesses. "One thing that [Bradley] serves on is the Small Business Committee," Donald said, "and a lot of people don't realize it, but a dental office is a small business.. A general practitioner may employ five to seven people in his office."
According to Donald, the profession of dentistry employs 758,000 people across the country, with an economic impact of $200 billion a year He said that in Bradley's district, health care providers account for 3,486 workers and $167.3 million in annual wages.
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Money Might Not Be the Only Factor in the 2nd District
WASHINGTON, March 2 -Election Day is still eight months away, but the candidates in New Hampshire's 2 nd Congressional District are already gearing up and gathering funds.
Even though Republican Rep. Charles Bass raised twice as much money as Democratic hopeful Paul Hodes last year, the November election may be determined by more than money.
According to filings submitted by the candidates to the Federal Election Commission, Hodes raised $113,930 and Bass raised $251,450 through Dec. 31.
However, with President Bush's approval rating still hovering in the low forties, the Republican Party may be facing an uncomfortable election season.
"In an election year like this, where voters want change, where voters are concerned about ethics and incumbency suddenly evokes images of lobbyists and Tom DeLay, the incumbent's financial advantage may not be worth what it is in a normal election cycle," political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said.
Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan analysis of politics and elections, said it was apparent that Hodes would not be able to match Bass's funds dollar for dollar, but as long as he generated enough money to make himself visible, he may have a chance.
Hodes will "try to ride a partisan Democratic wave that may well sweep across the country," Rothenberg said. "It's about having enough money, being at the right place at the right time, to take advantage of that time for a change."
Interestingly, Hodes drew most of his funds from individual contributors (only $1,300 came from political action committees), but Bass received only 36 percent of his contributions from individual donations.
In New Hampshire's 1 st Congressional District, Rep. Jeb Bradley, like Bass, is far ahead of his probable Democratic challenger, Gary Dodds. Bradley last year raised $313,724 to Dodd's $89,745. Bradley's seat is considered safer than Bass', though neither is at the top of most lists of endangered incumbents.
If the partisan wave Rothenberg talks about does end up sweeping the country, it is not Bass or Bradley who should be the first to worry, he said. He cited Connecticut's Robert Simmons, Nancy Johnson and Christopher Shays, and Pennsylvania's Jim Gerlach as the most vulnerable Republican incumbents.
Nevertheless, he said, if a really big wave hits New Hampshire, Democrats would hope to be able to knock off Bass. "It would take a considerable wave for that to happen, but it's possible," he said.
Rothenberg pointed out that it is standard for the incumbent to raise considerably more money than the challenger and said that this is one of the reasons incumbents rarely lose.
"They begin with a financial advantage; sometimes their opponents don't get enough money to even become credible," Rothenberg said. "When their opponents do start raising money to become credible the incumbent with the big financial advantage just lowers the boom, runs lots of TV ads, radio spots, and crushes the opponent. So it's a significant factor."
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Gregg Criticizes Bush Administration on National Security
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 - Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., criticized the Bush administration Tuesday for not budgeting more money for homeland security.
The view of domestic security "where security is a stepchild of national defense is clearly the attitude of this administration, and it's the wrong attitude," Gregg said in an interview after a subcommittee he chairs heard from Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.
"They've made a very robust commitment to our national defense, from the standpoint of military, but they've not made an equal commitment to securing the borders or upgrading the Department of Homeland Security as a force for interior defense," the senator said.
Throughout the hearing by the homeland security subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, Gregg stressed that the security of the borders was an important concern, even for a state like New Hampshire, which shares a small international border.
"Everybody in New Hampshire is part of the country," Gregg said after the hearing. "Everybody travels by airline, everybody wants to be sure that the people coming to this country are coming here to be participants in a positive way in our society and not harm us."
During the hearing Gregg called President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal 2007 a "hollow budget, and I can't understand it, because I've watched the press conferences where the administration has said it's committed to border security and domestic defense, and yet this budget didn't really get there."
Gregg, along with most members of the subcommittee, stressed that the control of American ports was a major concern. "I think there's a genuine concern, and it's legitimate, turning these ports over to Arab operations," Gregg said. The issue deserves significant review, he said, stressing that although Dubai has been friendly and supportive, it also had individuals that were involved in the September 11 attacks.
"I can't think of anything more significant than national defense, than protecting our borders and making sure that our homeland is secure," Gregg said. "Yet time and time again, we see budgets being sent up here which dramatically increase the core operations of the Defense Department. and yet the Department of Homeland Security is being starved for funds in crucial areas."
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the senior Democratic member of the subcommittee, said that of the $860 million that Congress has appropriated.for port security, only $46 million was requested by the president. There's nothing robust about that; if that's robust then I'm an 810-pound giant, take me on!"
Byrd echoed many of the criticisms that Gregg had for the administration.
Gregg said that he aggressively asked the administration to add $1.2 billion in a supplemental budget for Coast Guard planes, border patrol cars and training facilities, but that the money was not provided.
"That seemed like a fundamental element of national defense to me, and yet the administration has stonewalled us on that," Gregg said. The supplemental budget included money for Katrina relief and the war in Iraq, but includes no money for border protection. Gregg said that he was sure both were necessary, "but in the pecking order of national defense, protecting our borders is right up there with both those exercises."
Gregg also cited computer technology capabilities across the department and the inability to communicate with other agencies as another major flaw of Homeland Security. However, despite the criticisms, Gregg praised both the leadership of Chertoff and the 180,000 workers within the department.
"I respect Secretary Chertoff. I think he's trying very hard, but the hand he's dealt is not the hand he wanted, I don't think," he said after the hearing.
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N.H. Delegation Receives Praise from League of Conservation Voters
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 - Although the League of Conservation Voters gave New Hampshire's congressional delegation the lowest ratings on key environmental votes among the New England states, many members were praised for their environmental work.
The league's 2005 National Environmental Scorecard, released on Tuesday, gives the state's all-Republican delegation an average score of 37 percent. Rep. Jeb Bradley received the highest score, 44 percent, and Sen. Judd Gregg had the lowest score, 30 percent. Sen. John Sununu received a score of 40 percent and Rep. Charles Bass scored 33 percent.
But the delegation's 37 percent was significantly above what their party scored in both the House and the Senate. On average, House Republicans scored 11.46 percent and Senate Republicans 15.18 percent. The national average for all members was 45 percent in each chamber.
The league's legislative director praised much of the delegation's environmental work. "Congressman Bass and Congressman Bradley both played a real leadership role in protecting the Arctic refuge from drilling, and we give them a lot of credit," Tiernan Sittenfeld said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Both "had a significant role in getting the House leadership to take Arctic drilling out of the budget reconciliation" legislation, Sittenfeld said, adding that the league "would love to continue to work with both House members of New Hampshire on protecting the Arctic as well as other wild places."
He said that the league hoped the delegation would score higher in the next year but that it was worth noting that Sununu had also taken positive environmental positions. "Sen. Sununu was a co-sponsor of an amendment to stop taxpayer subsidies from building logging roads near the Tongass. . So we applaud him for that," Sittenfeld said.
Jack Savage, vice President of communications/Outreach for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests disagreed with the league's scores. "We don't issue scorecards, but if we did we'd score them differently-and on the work that we and our 10,000 members urge them to do, they're doing pretty well," he said.
According to Savage, the delegation's full support helped protect the 171,000 acres of the Connecticut River Headwaters project. "There's been substantial land and critical habitat protected around Great Bay in recent years that only could have happened with their help," he said. "Moose Mountains, one of the Forest Society's newest (and third-largest) forest reservations, the largest contiguous privately-held block of unprotected forestland in southeast New Hampshire, was made possible through Judd Gregg and Jeb Bradley in particular, and the full delegation in general."
The League of Conservation Voters has released a scorecard for each Congress since 1970. The scorecard is based on the percentage of what the league considers to be pro-environmental votes. Last year, there were 18 such votes in the House and 20 in the Senate.
Many of the votes in 2005 focused on issues of energy, global warming, fuel economy and drilling in the Arctic refuge. The league is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that calls itself the "political voice of the national environmental and conservation community," and aims to run campaigns against candidates it considers to be anti-environmental.
Tony Massaro, the league's senior vice president for political affairs and public education, said he thought it would be helpful if New Hampshire residents contacted their members when their votes are not in agreement with the residents' own views on environmental issues.
"We encourage everybody to go to the scorecard, go to the Web site, look up their members, look at the votes, find the votes where their viewpoint was not reflected by any members and communicate that concern," he said. He added that residents should thank members when their votes were consistent with their own views.
Massaro also said that state residents need to let their members know their viewpoints before votes occur by going to town hall meetings with members.
"We think that as members hear more and more about these kinds of issues from the citizens, that their votes tend to move closer in line with the citizens," he said.
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Rice Stirs Skepticism in Budget Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16-- "You can mark me down as a skeptic," said Senator Ken Conrad, D-N.D., to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she testified at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Thursday morning.
Conrad, who was extremely critical of Rice's argument that there has been progress in Iraq, said that $30 billion of "American taxpayer money has already been dedicated to the task, so the American people have been very generous already."
Senator Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the chairman of the committee, was the only other senator present for most of the hearing. Gregg did not echo Conrad's skepticism but instead asked if Rice believed that the amount of money budgeted was enough.
"You're one of the few secretaries that comes before this committee who's had significant increases in your budget," Gregg said. He asked if Rice could explain how the department was going to use the money and whether the significant increase was enough.
Rice said that the State Department would do its part to make sure that the dollars are well spent. However, she said, the United States was not meeting diplomatic needs and there were more positions that were needed in many of the Latin American, Chinese and Indian posts.
"I promise you we're going to be looking to squeeze out every dollar that we can, but right now the demand outstrips the supply of even significant increases that we've had because I think we've recognized the challenges before us," the secretary said.
Conrad said: "I'm very concerned that we're going to be asked for boatloads of additional funding. There's an enormous challenge in the Middle East, we also face big challenges in our own Midwest ,and I say to you that this. doesn't look good to me."
U.S. taxpayer dollars have been put toward modernizing the infrastructure of Iraq, Rice said, citing the increased capacity in that country for water and sewerage
"We can improve capacity, that's great," Conrad said, but at the end of the day what people cared about was having actual water and sewerage facilities.
"We don't want our foreign assistance program to be a kind of permanent dependency for countries," Rice said. "We really want them to be able to take on their own problems."
"I think the secretary made a very strong case for what they were doing," Gregg said in an interview after the hearing. The senator said Rice made a legitimate point, and if the United States were able to produce a functioning market-oriented democracy in Iraq, that "will undermine the Islamic fundamentalist movement throughout the region."
Gregg said countries like Iran who are running governments that counter democracy "will find themselves under a lot of pressure from their own people to pursue the same course as Iraq has pursued, with liberties and democracies and women getting freedom and having the vote."
"We need to be successful in Iraq and produce a successful democracy there, and we're well down the road to accomplishing that," Gregg said.
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Bass Agrees with Sununu on Earmark Reform
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15-Rep. Charles Bass, who joined a bipartisan group of congressmen to announce support Wednesday for earmark reform, said it is a complex process and people should not "expect results overnight."
"There are not simple answers," said Bass, who endorsed an earmark reform bill sponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
"What we need to do is come up with a plan, a compromise plan, quite frankly, that will satisfy the need," Bass said. "The need is to find accountability, transparency and disclosure while at the same time not hamstringing the ability for Congress to do its business."
This is the second bipartisan bill on earmarking that New Hampshire lawmakers have endorsed over the past week. This bill is similar to the Pork Barrel Reduction Act Sen. John Sununu and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced last week.
An earmark is money Congress designates for a particular project, like a bridge. Some earmarks are being written into bills after they have passed both chambers and have gone to a joint Senate-House conference committee to work out differences in the bill's two versions.
Bass said any legislation to change the earmark system must have four elements: the sponsors of the earmarks must be named, the earmarked projects must be identified, they must not be added to bills that come out of a conference committee and they must be included in the legislation itself, not simply in the accompanying committee reports.
"I think Sununu's bill has the four elements that I support; I think Mr. Flake's bill lacks the signature part," Bass said of the absence from the House bill of the requirement that lawmakers who seek to earmark money must publicly identify themselves and explain the earmark's essential governmental process.
Although he said that his opinion might differ from some of his colleagues, Bass said he believes that there is nothing wrong with "a member of Congress expressing his or her support for priority spending within his or her district."
However, he said, "the key is to make sure that the public understands what they're doing, and if they don't like it, then it can be removed."
"I have always advocated for my constituents," Bass said, "but I've always published, in fact boasted about, the work that I do because I think it's important." He said he was not ashamed of any of the money he has earmarked in the past, including community development block grants for areas that he believed needed help.
"There's nothing wrong with having everybody do what I do, which is to publish and support and be willing to actively promote, and be willing to stand on the merits of those requests that I made," he said.
The problem with the earmarking process is that most people do not know how it works, Bass said. This included him until recently, he admitted. "Six months ago I didn't understand how the earmarking process worked exactly; you know, all this business about top line versus bottom line," he said. Now that he understands, he said, he is endorsing reform.
Joining Bass and Flake at the press conference on their bill were Democrats Jim Cooper of Tennessee and Dennis Cardoza of California.
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Sununu Wants Taxpayers to Be Able to Track Their Money
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9-Taxpayers may have a better idea of what their money is being used for if Congress approves a new bill Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., is sponsoring.
"People in small towns and big towns and cities in New Hampshire are paying a good deal of taxes," Sununu said in an interview after a press conference announcing the bill. "This is their money that is being sent to Washington, and we want to make sure that across the whole budget it reflects our country's priorities."
The bill, which Sununu is co-sponsoring with nine other Senators, including Arizona's John McCain, aims to reduce the number of earmarks inserted in bills during the conference process.
An earmark is money set aside specifically for a particular project, like the building of a bridge. Some of these earmarks are being written into bills after they have passed both chambers and have gone to a joint Senate-House conference committee to work out differences in the bill's two versions.
Sununu's bill, called the "Pork Barrel Reduction Act," would prevent last-minute additions to legislation to fund special projects.
"Any taxpayer wants to make sure that there's a good process in place to disclose how money is being spent," Sununu said. The bill would enable members "to identify what priorities certain members of Congress are pushing for and to know that we're doing everything possible to minimize egregious earmarks."
The aim of the bill, Sununu said, is to shed more light on the process so members know when earmarks are introduced, what they are specifically funding and who is sponsoring them.
"I don't think any legislation can get rid of earmarks entirely, and members of Congress should always have the opportunity to push for priorities in their home state or their district," Sununu said.
Earmark reform has been a sensitive issue for many members who believe they are judged by constituents on the amount of money that they get appropriated for their home state.
Sununu said he disagrees with that belief. "What voters care most about is that you have a voice that reflects the state well, that you're willing to stand on principle, that you do your homework and you cast a good thoughtful vote," he said at the press conference. "I think those are the things that matter most."
This bipartisan bill, introduced by two Democrats and eight Republicans, comes at a time when there is a strong congressional divide between the Democrats and Republicans.
"At the very least, I think there's a recognition of real common ground here, recognizing that reducing the number of requests is helpful to everyone, makes for a better process," Sununu said. "I think those are the kinds of changes that everyone in Congress can support because they make for a better process."
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Bass Solicits Residents’ Concerns
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -If you have had a problem with the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program, Rep. Charles Bass wants to hear about it.
"With the advent of the new prescription drug benefit plan, there are bound to be problems during the start-up phase, and that's what we're experiencing now," Bass said Wednesday in announcing that he wants New Hampshire residents who have experienced problems with the new program to contact his office.
"I'm simply trying to make sure that I provide the best possible constituent service to my constituents, and I've established a mechanism for them to talk to us and get their problems solved if there's any way that we can do it," the congressman said in a telephone interview.
The mechanism he referred to is a new form linked on the front page of his Web site, http://www.house.gov/bass, encouraging New Hampshire residents who have encountered problems with the drug plan to fill out the form. Residents are asked to provide basic contact information and a detailed explanation of the problems. A link is also provided to a help desk Bass set up last year to answer basic questions about the new program.
Residents are also welcome to call, write, fax, or e-mail the Bass. "I'm not suspecting that this is going to have to go on indefinitely," Bass said, "but during this transition period for the next six months I want my office doing everything it possibly can to make sure that the transition is smooth and responsive."
Bass said he hopes residents do not run into problems with the new plan, "but I certainly hope if they do, they won't hesitate to call, and we'll do what we can to address them," he said.
Bass stressed that this service to New Hampshire residents was not very different from the work that his office performs on a daily basis, except that "we know that right now there are particular issues associated with Medicare Part D, and we just want to make sure that people know that we're yet another resource that they can call on if they have a problem."
If residents contact him with problems, the next step, Bass said, is that he will call the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency in charge of the program, and "try to advocate on their behalf to try to get it straightened out." Bass said his office would perform a similar service for someone who was missing a Social Security check or could not sign up for veterans' benefits.
"I guess the only difference is that we understand that there is potentially a concentration of issues here," Bass said. "We want constituents to know that we're going to have somebody in our organization that's going to be responsible for making sure that all these requests get handled in a timely fashion and hopefully resolved satisfactorily."
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Delegation Thinks Budget Proposal is Good for New Hampshire
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 - New Hampshire residents will be benefiting from President Bush's proposed budget for next year, according to the state's all-Republican congressional delegation.
"It's good for New Hampshire, it's good for the economy," Sen. Judd Gregg said in a phone interview. Gregg said it was important for the government to focus on addressing "the problems of the baby boomers," which he believes this budget has done.
Gregg, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said he plans to concentrate on controlling entitlement spending. "That's where the problem is," he said.
In a statement on Monday, the day Bush submitted his budget plan to Congress, Gregg cited Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as the mandatory spending programs that, if left unchecked, he said, would pose a threat to the economic security of future generations.
The President has proposed spending of almost $2.8 trillion for 2007, an increase of $61 billion over 2006.
"We must address the retirement needs of the massive Baby Boom generation, grapple with the skyrocketing costs of health care and find some balance that will not leave future generations with a bill they cannot pay," Gregg said in a letter to his colleagues Monday. By 2011, according to Gregg, the proposed budget would curb the growth in Medicare spending and create personal retirement accounts as part of the Social Security program.
And as for the potential cuts in entitlement programs that Gregg announced last week, he said in the interview, "I think we're going to have a pretty good challenge just trying to do what the president's proposing here."
Sen. John E. Sununu agreed that the budget proposal is promising. "I think overall it's a budget that's good for the economy and that's good for New Hampshire," he said in an interview . "We've had consistent economic growth in the last couple of years. We want to make sure that's maintained. New Hampshire is a very entrepreneurial state, so making tax relief permanent that encourages investments and new business creation is important to New Hampshire."
Sununu said controlling the growth of the federal government is in everyone's interest. "It's a budget that is very much in keeping with the New Hampshire tradition of fiscal responsibility," he said, "and I hope we can speak with that discipline as we go through the process."
In a statement, Rep Charles Bass said the President's proposal provides Congress with a starting point for consideration and debate. "Congress needs to craft a budget that reflects our continuing national priorities of securing our homeland, developing our economy, and reducing the growth of mandatory government spending," he said.
Rep. Jeb Bradley said in an interview that the President set the right tone by seeking to reduce the nation's deficit while maintaining strong national security. Bradley, a member of the House Budget Committee, said he was "looking forward to the hearings process and working on it, and moving it forward and reducing our nation's deficit while we continue to strengthen the military and grow our economy."
When the budget goes before the House committee, Bradley will be looking out for issues that affect New Hampshire residents, he said, such as the home heating assistance program, and the nation as a whole, such as special education funds.
He said that he will also be looking at larger issues, such as how the budget proposal will affect "the deficit, how we slow the rate of growth of government programs, how we strengthen our nation's defenses and how we grow the economy."
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