Getting Granite Staters Back to Work
The issue of Getting Granite Staters Back to Work is important to our district and to my work in Congress.
Helping return New Hampshire to full employment is Priority #1. I will continue to fight to bring New Hampshire's unemployment down and bring sustainable and permanent jobs into the state. That’s why I launched my ongoing Getting Granite Staters Back to Work initiative in April, 2011.
Job creators are the answer to lingering high unemployment, not the government. Small businesses are the engine that drives our state’s economy, and they (not Washington) will lead the way back to an expanding workforce and prosperity.
The initiative began with a survey of job creators. I asked about their plans for hiring new employees (a sobering combined 59% said they had no plans to increase their payrolls this year or beyond), asked for their thoughts on what Washington should –and shouldn’t– do to foster job growth, and inquired about impediments to their expansion.
I followed that up with a roundtable discussion with job creators, where they shared specific details on what Washington can do to create a fiscal environment that can create the confidence they need to hire new employees.
Next, a pillar of my initiative is sponsoring several job fairs across the state which brings together people who are looking for work with employers who are looking for workers. By facilitating these introductions, I hope to give job seekers the opportunity to find good, stable employment and businesses the qualified applicants to fill their needs. In June of 2011, I began with two job fairs in Derry and Rochester.
I then hosted a special Veterans' Job Fair in Manchester to help our returning servicemen and servicewomen and their families. The members of our Armed Forces have fought bravely to protect our country and we should continue to support them once they return to civilian life. Click here for a results report afterwards.
My first job fair of 2012 was held in February at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth. Click here to read more about the Portsmouth event. I launched my second job fair in Conway on May 22nd which brought many Granite Staters together with northern employers. For more information, click here.
On June 25th, I hosted a Women's Job Fair at Manchester Community College and took a moment to honor two outstanding women that have done amazing work within New Hampshire. I proudly announced the winners of the First "Granite State Beacon Award" given to Florence Wiggin and Jennifer Turco Beaudet. Click here to learn more about these wonderful community members.
In order to support the women of New Hampshire, who have been hit especially hard during this economy, I hosted my first Empower, Educate, Engage Women's Conference in Manchester in March (Click here to read more about the conference) and a Business Women's Roundtable in Laconia in April. These were great successes and I hope to continue building conferences and events for women in the Granite State to support and strengthen their job hunt.
New Hampshire's manufacturing sector needs help, which is why I hosted a series of three Manufacturing Summits around the district. The first was in Portsmouth in April and focused on needs of the industry followed up with one in Laconia about training and education. In June, the third was held in Manchester.
More activities are being planned for the coming months and I remain committed to helping as many people return to work as possible.
When it comes to what I am doing in Washington, the personal stories, information and other insight I've gathered from my Getting Granite Staters Back to Work initiative are vital to my legislative duties on Capitol Hill, too. In Washington, I have been actively voting for, sponsoring, and cosponsoring dozens of jobs related legislation. Please visit the "Job Tracker" below to take a look at just a few of the jobs bills that have already passed the House of Representatives and their current status in the legislative process.
