Concord, New Hampshire — First Budget, a nonpartisan initiative to raise awareness of the nation’s fiscal challenges during the 2016 presidential campaign, today announced a “New Hampshire Cabinet” consisting of political, business and civic leaders from across the state.
The Cabinet includes Democrats and Republicans who share a deep concern over the growing federal debt and who will help First Budget engage voters to ensure that presidential candidates make this issue a top policy priority during the New Hampshire primary campaign.
“We have a soaring national debt that will increase by trillions of dollars in the coming decade, while we face many challenges abroad and many needs at home — from crumbling infrastructure to troubled schools to underfunded and overpriced health care,” said First Budget Cabinet member Richard Swett, a former congressman and former U.S. ambassador. “By setting priorities and pursuing fiscal reforms, however, we can put the federal budget on a more responsible path and still make the investments we need to ensure a stronger nation in the years ahead.”
Cabinet member Bill Zeliff, also a former congressman, emphasized that the nation’s demographic shift is already putting enormous pressure on the federal budget.
“As aging baby boomers leave the workforce, they begin paying less in taxes while receiving more in government benefits,” he said. “Continuing to ignore these challenges will only make the eventual changes more difficult and disruptive. To simply kick the can down the road will rob our young people of the opportunities that older Americans have enjoyed. It is all about stewardship and fairness.”
First Budget’s New Hampshire Cabinet members:
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Richard Swett – Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark and Former U.S. Representative, New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District – Bow
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William Zeliff – Former U.S. Representative, New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District
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Paul Hodes – Former U.S. Representative, New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District
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Donnalee Lozeau — Mayor of Nashua
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Martha Fuller Clark – State Senator, New Hampshire’s 21st District – Seacoast
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Harold Janeway – Former State Senator, New Hampshire’s 7th District – Webster
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Ed Dupont – Former State Senator, New Hampshire’s 6th District; President, The Dupont Group – Durham
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Richard Ashooh – Director of Strategy, BAE Systems; Chairman, Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy – Bedford
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Brad Cook – Shareholder, Sheehan Phinney Bass & Green; Columnist, NH Business Review – Manchester
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Fred Kocher – President, Kocher & Company, Inc.; Co-Founder, NH Forum on the Future; Former President, New Hampshire High Tech Council
The New Hampshire Cabinet builds upon a broad-based network of national and local support for fiscal reform, including the bipartisan national leadership of The Concord Coalition and the Campaign to Fix the Debt.
First Budget Cabinet members are already working to engage business and civic leaders and citizens to ensure that the presidential candidates address the federal debt. New First Budget videos features Cabinet members, volunteers and other citizens expressing their concerns and expectations for candidates.
Media Contact: Chase Hagaman, 941 993-5873, [email protected]
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First Budget is a joint nonpartisan initiative of The Concord Coalition and the Campaign to Fix the Debt to raise awareness of the dangers posed by the nation’s unsustainable budget policies and make solving this problem a high priority for the 2016 presidential candidates, starting with the early nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Visit firstbudget.org to learn more and follow us on twitter: @concordc and @fixthedebt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbz4_vlw2ko
