Garcia Nabs Club for Growth PAC Endorsement

Here’s the latest news from the candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District seat.

'Economic freedom' PAC backs Garcia

The Club for Growth PAC announced on June 20, that it is endorsing state Rep. Marilinda Garcia, R-Salem, for U.S. Congress in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District.

“The Club for Growth PAC enthusiastically endorses Marilinda Garcia for Congress. Based on her excellent record in the legislature, we are confident that she’ll fight to cut taxes, oppose corporate welfare, and she’ll stand on principle against the big spenders in both parties,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “Marilinda was instrumental in passing the first budget in New Hampshire to cut spending since World War II, and she’s repeatedly fought for pro-growth policies in Concord. Most importantly, she believes ObamaCare is a disaster that needs to be completely repealed and replaced with free-market solutions. Club members will strongly support her candidacy for Congress.”

The Club for Growth is the nation’s leading group promoting economic freedom through legislative involvement, issue advocacy, research, and education.

The Club’s website can be found at clubforgrowth.org.

Lambert: Special prosecutor needed for IRS scandal

The House Ways and Means Committee recently held a hearing regarding the IRS Scandal and the thousands of lost emails from Lois Lerner and other senior IRS officials. John Koskinen, Commissioner of the IRS, testified before the committee.

In response, former State Senator and 2nd Congressional District candidate Gary Lambert released the following statement:

“Clearly, the IRS, Lois Lerner, and the Obama administration are not cooperating fully with the House of Representatives investigation into the illegal targeting of conservatives by the IRS,” said Lambert. “Crimes were committed here – American citizens were unfairly harassed and targeted by their own government on the basis of their political beliefs.”

Lambert called for the appointment of a special prosecutor noting that it has been

“more than a year since the American public learned of these criminal acts and yet no has been charged with a crime, much less gone to jail.”

Lambert also called on Kuster to join in the call.

“Her own tax problems are well documented,” Lambert noted. “In order for the people of New Hampshire to have confidence Rep. Kuster is seeking the truth about the IRS scandal, she needs to join me in asking for this investigation to be moved out of the political arena and into the hands of an independent Special Prosecutor.”

Kuster calls for improving VA efficiency

U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, continued her push earlier this week for the VA to improve efficiency, so no veteran ever has to wait for care. She also cosponsored H.R. 4841, the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, to increase care options for veterans, improve transparency at the VA, and reduce the risk of mismanagement.

Last week, the Senate overwhelmingly passed companion legislation to this bill, which was introduced by Sens. John McCain, R-AZ, and Bernie Sanders, I-VT.

“We must continue to hold the VA accountable for the appalling mismanagement that continues to come to light. We owe our veterans a great debt of gratitude, and making them wait for care is absolutely unacceptable. That’s why today I pushed VA officials to improve administrative practices at VA medical facilities and make it easier for veterans to schedule, reschedule, and receive information about their appointments. I questioned private sector health administrators about how we can best provide timely non-VA care to veterans who have limited access at their local VA facilities,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “I’m also proud to cosponsor H.R. 4841, which will increase options for care and improve transparency at the VA, and I urge my colleagues in the House to pass it immediately.”

During the hearing, Kuster pushed VA officials to increase the focus on measuring outcomes, so moving forward the VA can implement best practices and ensure that our veterans are receiving the care they need as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Congresswoman also questioned private sector health care administrators about how non-VA care providers can be better integrated into the VA health care system to provide a more robust model of community-based care for our veterans. 

Libertarian gathering signatures

Brian Chabot filed with the Secretary of State’s Office last week to gather signatures to run as the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire candidate in the 2nd Congressional District.

The IT and systems professional from Nashua first started toying with the idea earlier this year after hinting he might run for U.S. Senate again (he previously attempted to gain ballot access as an independent in 2010 but was unsuccessful). He set up a website in March to gather support for the effort for Congress. He’ll need to gather the signatures of 3,000 registered voters by September to get access to the ballot. 

Read all the Campaign 2014 posts and stories in the Patch Elections section.