If a $600 million to $900 million gap in the budget sounds daunting, what would you say to almost $5 billion in unfunded pension liability and medical subsidy accounts for New Hampshire's public employee retirement system?Did that get your attention?…

I just read another one of those "Ban the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative" articles ("Quit RGGI and boost the economy," Jan. 28-Feb. 10 NHBR), written on behalf of coal and oil interests that have billions invested in fossil fuel consumption.…

Last October, the New Hampshire Building and Construction Trades Council joined Gov. John Lynch in announcing our support for the Northern Pass transmission project.Citing overwhelming economic benefits to New Hampshire and countless local communities, we believed that the project would…

By Deb ReynoldsLike many other legislators desperate for job creation in New Hampshire, I initially welcomed the announcement last fall by Public Service of New Hampshire that the Hydro-Quebec/Northern Pass project would create 1,200 jobs for New Hampshire.Sadly, I was…

There is a growing mythology among some who profess a concern about healthy forests and our energy future that wood is bad as a fuel for energy, and that we in the northeastern United States are foolish to include wood…

Recently, a group of state lawmakers introduced legislation to withdraw New Hampshire from participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is an agreement by the governments of 10 northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to impose a regional cap-and-trade program on…

Earlier in January, the new House Republican majority presented our legislative agenda for the upcoming session. We are committed to this comprehensive conservative agenda, and we will deliver on our promise to protect the New Hampshire advantage of low taxes…

The 2011 session of the New Hampshire Legislature is under way. Under the hapless leadership of Speaker William O'Brien, the New Hampshire House is acting so recklessly that natural allies like Charlie Arlinghaus of the conservative Josiah Bartlett Center, the…

As the 112th Congress returned to Washington this month, the New England region has seen significant changes in the level of clout its Congressional delegation holds. Several of New England's most senior and respected senators - Connecticut's Chris Dodd and…

Many of New Hampshire's newly elected representatives have started to consider how to tackle the budget deficit that the state faces for the coming biennium.Some observers now say we are rapidly approaching a $900 million hole, and this issue has…

When I first ran for Congress, I said we needed to get the debt under control and stop borrowing from China, and that the borrowing was creating a national security risk and undermining our moral authority in the world.Washington Republicans…

The concept of allowing boaters to decide for themselves how fast is "reasonable and prudent" is the only thing that can work on the ocean.Enforcing a set speed limit on the open seas is impossible. The best that can be…

On Dec. 13, about 1,000 Americans from all 50 states gathered in New York City to make an open declaration of concern and hope for their country.These citizen leaders of a new effort called "No Labels" are Republicans, Democrats and…

Among the many reasons Democrats took a shellacking in 2010 was the lack of brand identity. No one knows what the heck we are.The Republican brand is clear: anger, passion, as little government as possible. But the Democrats' brand is…

People like to compare the state or federal budget to a family's budget, and base suggestions about what government should do on the habits of regular people. For example, new House Speaker Bill O'Brien plans to switch the order of…