During my three terms serving the good people of New Hampshire’s First District, I never forgot that public office is a public trust. I’m running again because I have the experience, the competence, and the integrity to serve the rest of us and to fight against special interests.
I never take money from corporate PACs and DC lobbyists, so, to quote Shirley Chisholm, I am “unbought and unbossed”—and, I might add, unbreakable! That’s why I have won most of my races in a district that is only 26% Democratic.
Even before my time in Congress, I spent my professional life serving others. Although I had never run for a public office before, I ran for Congress after I volunteered in New Orleans during the Katrina disaster. I knew President Bush and his political allies had failed America in so many ways, and that was not acceptable to me. I wanted to provide honest service to the people.
It was a great honor to be the first woman ever elected to federal office from NH, and I kept my promise to serve the rest of us. I worked hard to pass legislation that helped troops and veterans, families, small business owners, working men and women, senior citizens, and students.
I believe that affordable education creates prosperity, that renewable energy is key to our economic and national security, and that sending manufacturing jobs overseas hurts American workers and small businesses. I believe that investing in infrastructure, fostering job creation, and fair pay are good business decisions and good moral decisions, and that we can reduce the debt without dismantling essential programs. The current Republican-controlled House of Representatives obstructs legislation that will help average Americans and bows to special interests instead of focusing on job creation and good government.
My Dad, who was a Republican, never forgot the power of good government to transform lives. He served in WWII, and then America thanked him with the GI bill for college so his children were raised in the middle class. (I thought of Dad and his generation when I cosponsored the new GI Bill of Rights for this generation, now law.) My Mom and Dad worked hard, raised a family, and served their community. My parents paid their taxes and when they retired, received Social Security benefits and Medicare. It was a contract. My parents supported these programs when they worked, and used them when they retired.
My parents lived the American dream, and so have I. Now, we must work to keep America the land of opportunity and fairness for your children and mine. Thank you for your help!
