Paul W. Hodes

The Economy

In 2007, the first House bill Hodes introduced proposed to create an economic-development commission to spur jobs for people living near the Canadian border in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and New York. The Northern Border Regional was attached to the 2008 farm bill, and provided for $30 million in annual investment through 2012. Hodes said he'd work to make permanent federal infrastructure investment in that region.

The Concord Democrat supported President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package passed in February 2009, saying it will help create jobs and update the power and transportation infrastructure in the Northeast with an eye toward the environment.

Hodes opposed both versions of the fall 2008 financial bailout plan, arguing that neither version sufficiently protected taxpayers nor addressed the home foreclosure crisis. The votes also likely help Hodes describe himself as a fiscal conservative in a state that cares about government spending.

Military Issues

After a 2007 Washington Post series about dismal conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Hodes asked for an independent investigation into veterans' health care. In 2008, a Hodes sponsored bill cleared the House creating an ombudsman position in the Department of Veterans' Affairs, but the Senate never voted on it.

A vocal opponent of the Iraq war, Hodes' first term was marked by his criticism of how certain aspects of that war were handled. In 2007, he criticized then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Blacwater founder Erik Prince for contracting practices and behavior in Iraq.

In 2008, Hodes called for a hearing and investigation into a New York Times series on the Pentagon's use of ex-military officials as "'independent' military analysts" in order to shape perception of the war.

Hodes added an amendment to the 2009 defense authorization bill permanently banning the use of funds for domestic propaganda and requiring a report from the Defense Department and the General Accounting Office if there were any violations.

Phone-Jamming Controversy

In September 2007, Hodes requested a congressional probe into whether the White House and the Justice Department were involved in a "politically motivated plot" to delay and obstruct justice carrieed out New Hampshire Republicans to jam the phone lines during Election Day 2002.

That morning, the state's Republican Party hired a telemarketer to make hundreds of hang-up calls in order to block turnout efforts in an election that ultimately saw John Sununu win a Senate seat over Shaheen (D).

Hearings in the House Judiciary Committee were held in 2008 at Hodes' request, months after a national Republican Party official was acquitted. Hodes claimed there were 22 calls between the White House and New Hampshire Republicans leading up to Election Day, but was unable to verify who was on the lines and the content of the conversations.

The Arts

Hodes tackled various cases in entertainment law while working in private practice and has sought new laws providing royalties directly to musicians from radio stations that play their music. He co-sponsored a bill on the issue in 2008, which was reintroduced in February 2009.

The Environment

Hodes has supported energy independence as a means toward national security, supporting a higher gas mileage standard for cars and trucks and expanding the use of renewable energy sources.

The New Hampshire Democrat has proposed tax credits for people who burn biomass fuel at home. The proposal was incorporated in an energy bill that passed in 2007. He also supports providing tax incentives to companies whose employees carpool to work.

Health-Care Reform

Hodes voted for the 2010 health-reform overhaul, "Health reform will create jobs and jumpstart our small business economy."

Hodes said he supported the House Democratic plan because the current health-system was on track to "swallow" the country's budget. The bill proposed in the House included a controversial plan to create a publicly-run insurance plan that Americans would have the option to buy instead of their provate insurace.

But Hodes came under fire during for not holding in-person townhall meetings with constituents during the August 2009 recess. Hodes avoided the kind of large, public meetings that created problems for other Democrats. Some townhalls across the country ended in angry and even violent protests of aspects of the House health-care plan, such as a public health-insurance option. Hodes favored more-controlled telephone townhalls, and small, closed venues.

Hodes also alientated conservatives when he compared opponents of health-care reform to the "flat-earth society."

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