MEDIA RELEASE                                                 CONTACT: For Immediate Release                                                Greg Moore April 8, 2008                                                (603) 568-8159 (cell)
John Stephen Criticizes Rep. Shea-Porter's Taxpayer Protection Record
Freshman Congresswoman Score 5% Rating From National Taxpayer Union For 2007
MANCHESTER, NH- 1st District Congressional candidate John Stephen today said that New Hampshire taxpayers "deserve better representation" from Congress than Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, after the freshman Congresswoman scored a 5%- an "F" grade- from the National Taxpayers Union in her first year in the House.  The recently released Congressional rankings are available online (http://www.ntu.org/misc_items/rating/VS_2007.pdf).
"The taxpayers of New Hampshire deserve better representation than what they are getting from Representative Carol Shea-Porter," said Stephen.  "It's hard to imagine that you could possibly do worse than a 5% rating.  That means that 95% of the time, Shea-Porter is voting for bigger government, more spending and higher taxes.  That's a record to be ashamed about and certainly does not embody the New Hampshire values of low taxes and limited government.  New Hampshire residents deserve nothing less than an "A" rating from those who serve them in Washington.  Rep. Shea Porter has learned quickly what Washington values were and has made them her own."
Stephen also noted that New Hampshire sends far more to Washington than it receives in services, so increasing federal spending hurts the state taxpayers twice- once with the tax bill and a second time when paying for other states' additional spending.
"New Hampshire is a donor state to the federal government," added Stephen.  "We get back about 65 cents on the dollar we send to Washington.  That alone should be enough reason to oppose new federal spending.  Not only has Carol Shea-Porter dug into the taxpayers' pockets for more federal spending, she is sending our money to places like Mississippi and Arkansas.  We have enough problems right here and should not go looking to send Granite Staters money to other states."
Stephen is the former Commissioner of Health and Human Services.  Prior to that position, he served as the Assistant Commissioner of Safety, where he also served as the state's first Homeland Security Coordinator.  Stephen also served as a prosecutor for 10 years, in Hillsborough County and as an Assistant Attorney General.  He is a Manchester resident.