Hot Questions for a Steamy August

Members of Congress come home in August to talk to constituents through town hall forums. It's a time tested tradition, especially here in New Hampshire. Voters get to ask questions and share their opinions about the decisions that are being made in Washington, D.C. We expect our Presidential candidates to hold town hall meetings and we certainly expect our congressional representatives to do the same.  

I should know, I held 128 town hall forums in every town in the First Congressional District! Many times the questions were tough, sometimes the discussions were heated, but the meetings were always worthwhile. That's why it's so surprising to see Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter avoiding these forums - especially because she was a frequent visitor to mine and was always very vocal on the issues.

Apparently things look different now to the Congresswoman. From her lofty perch she has not scheduled a single town hall forum in August. There will be no opportunity for a voter to walk through the door and participate in a free-wheeling ask any question style event.  Shea-Porter’s spokesperson cited “a small group of people trying to disrupt the democratic process” as her reason for cowering from her constituents. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calls this public discussion "Un-American." Madam Speaker that’s appalling! 

Since when did it become "Un-American" to expect our elected representatives to explain their votes and defend the trillion dollar deficits, new taxes on energy and everything else, and implementing a government takeover of healthcare. What Profiles in Courage!

Here are some critical questions voters should demand Shea-Porter answer—in person:    

Question 1:When Democratic leaders passed the stimulus bill they indicated it would result in holding the national unemployment rate under 8%. In reality the unemployment rate soared to a 26 year high of 9.5% and since January, 2.84 million Americans have lost their jobs. While the rate of job loss did slow to 247,000 in July, the fact that a quarter of a million more Americans just lost jobs is not success. When will the stimulus actually start working?

Question 2:The budget deficit will approach a historic $2 trillion this year and is estimated to be $1 trillion a year for the next 10 years.Policies under discussion now would increase the top tax rate to nearly 40% and implement an additional surcharge of 5.4% that would fall primarily on small business owners to pay for health care. The top tax rate in America would be higher than every country except Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium -- a harsh penalty on investment, risk taking and business development and a recipe for more job loss. Given that the backbone of the NH economy is small business, how can you support this soaring deficit and increased taxes? 

Question 3:With nearly 3 million Americans out of work in the last 6 months alone, why are we even considering global warming legislation? India and China have promised not to participate in any effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which means accelerating the export of even more American jobs to those countries.A study by the Heritage Foundation estimates global warming legislation will lead to over 1 million lost jobs per year and cost the average family nearly $3000 annually.How does this get the Middle Class back on their feet? 

Question 4:  The House global warming bill that you voted for requires an energy audit for older homes and those that fail must make expensive upgrades before the home could be sold. For many people living in 200 year old New England homes this will be another major economic challenge on top of already declining real estate values.Did you even read this bill before you voted for it?

Question 5: Supporters of health care reform efforts have said the legislation will allow Americans to choose their doctors, will not increase the deficit and will not undermine the care that seniors currently receive. Yet the legislation being prepared for votes in the House in September, would cause almost 85 million Americans to lose their current private insurance according to studies cited by the Heritage Foundation, will increase the budget deficit by $239 billion according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, will raise taxes on many Americans including those making less than $250,000 and eliminate Medicare Advantage which 22% of seniors depend upon for their current health care. If this plan is so good for Americans, then why are you and America’s leaders exempted?