Congressman Paul Hodes

Representing New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

April 30, 2008

Contact:        Mark Bergman

                202-225-5206 (office)

Congressman Hodes Holds Successful Telephone Town Hall with 2700 North Country Residents

Washington, DC--- Last night, Congressman Paul Hodes held a successful telephone town hall meeting with residents of Coos and Grafton counties. Nearly 2700 residents joined the live call with Congressman Hodes and were able to ask questions of the Congressman.

Topics covered during the town hall included biomass and alternative energy, layoffs in the paper and timber industry, high gas prices, the economic consequences of the War in Iraq, the mortgage crisis and the rising cost of health care. The Congressman also took an inquiry about helping obtain weatherization assistance for a family and the Congressional office is currently working to help that resident.

“I heard last night how North Country residents are truly hurting in this economic downturn with job loss, record high gas prices, and the foreclosure crisis,” Congressman Hodes said. “We were able to bring North Country neighbors together to have a discussion on the important issues facing the region. 

“I was overwhelmed by the response we got with nearly 2700 residents connecting with us on the call. We have the technology to connect the North Country with their elected officials from the comfort of their own homes and I was happy to bring the town hall to them,” Congressman Hodes concluded.

This was the first telephone town hall meeting conducted by Congressman Hodes since taking office in 2007.

(Congressman Hodes Opening Statement below)

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It’s great to be here tonight. I am with you here from my office here in the Cannon House Office Building. I just got back from the floor of the House of Representatives where we took a couple votes.

We all know that the economy is struggling; there is no doubt about it. With the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch, rising gas prices, and policies that are shipping many of our jobs overseas, New Hampshire families, especially in the North Country, are struggling.

In Gorham, Groveton and Berlin, we have lost industries that were once the centerpiece of those communities.

This has left hundreds with no place to turn and has economically devastated the region.

In Congress, I'm working to help get assistance and economic development funding to the North Country. One of my top legislative priorities is my Northern Border Development Commission bill, which would create an economic commission that could bring up to $60 million in economic development funding to our North Country communities.  The legislation is currently included in the Farm Bill which is before Congress. It is still awaiting final action which could happen as early as next week-so I'm really hoping that we'll be able to get this signed into law in the near future to start bringing this vital economic aid to our communities.

I have also worked hard to develop incentives for residents and companies to burn biomass like wood pellets, an energy source that is plentiful throughout the North Country.  My residential biomass tax credit was included in the Energy Bill that passed the House and is currently awaiting action in the Senate. This would give people a tax break on their wood stoves and other home biomass burning units.

Also, I think we all know that the rising cost of gas is really hitting New Hampshire families hard.  That's why I strongly believe that the federal government needs to take aggressive action to provide much-needed relief. I have called on the President to release the strategic petroleum reserve.

By increasing supply in the market, we can bring an immediate reduction in price and much needed relief to the soaring gas prices. I'm also working to fight price gouging and make sure that we're investing in alternative energy sources so that we can keep prices down in the longer term.

Also, as you may have heard, this week the IRS will begin sending out economic stimulus payments that were passed in Congress. If you filed your tax return electronically, you can start to expect your rebate as early as this week. These rebates will help families struggling in the economic downturn and help offset the rising cost of gas, food, and health care. Also, if there are any seniors and veterans on the line, you can still receive this economic stimulus check this year if you file your 1040A tax return by October 15.

I also worked hard to get tax relief for small businesses included in the economic stimulus bill, and I'm happy to answer any questions about that.

The bottom line is, I'm focused on standing up for you in Congress and to make sure that the North Country has all the resources it needs to get through these tough economic times. There's a lot of work to do, and I'm here to do whatever I can to help. Thank you for joining us tonight and I will be happy to take any questions you may have.