Congressman Charles Bass

By Elaine Grant
NH Public Radio, June 20, 2011

Congressman Charlie Bass has been around long enough to know how difficult it is to bring change to Washington.

Bass told Concord business leaders he believes this is the right moment to tackle Medicare reform and curb spending. He believes one way to do so is to leverage negotiations over the debt ceiling.

"I will not vote for a debt limit increase which doesn't satisfy my mission," he said. "[That] is to make sure that we're on the road tactically as well as substantively to resolving this debt crisis."

Bass said if Congress doesn't dramatically cut spending now, the opportunity will be lost.