Although this election cycle has been nasty and personal at the national level, complicated by COVID-19’s infestation of the entire country including the White House, a U.S. Supreme Court nomination and protests over systemic racism, other issues crucial to business are on the line.
NH Business Review asked the major party candidates running this year for four key offices about seven topics: labor and employment, taxes, housing, healthcare, infrastructure, energy and COVID-19. Answers are unedited unless they exceeded the word limit. Biographical information is also included.
Chris Pappas
Born and raised in Manchester, Chris Pappas is a small business owner.
After graduating from Harvard College in 2002, he returned to New Hampshire to help run his family’s more than 100-year old business, the Puritan Backroom Restaurant, where he manages his restaurant’s day-to-day business and more than 230 employees.
Prior to serving in Congress, Chris represented District 4 on the New Hampshire Executive Council. When he was elected to the U.S. House in 2018, he became New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress.
During his first term, Chis has sponsored legislation to support New Hampshire’s small businesses, improve access to affordable healthcare for Granite Staters, fight to get our veterans the benefits they have earned, combat the opioid epidemic and protect our drinking water.
Chris serves on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee where he chairs the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
In his free time, Chris tries to run a few miles every day, spend time with family, and get in a spirited game of Scrabble.
Matt Mowers
Matt Mowers worked as a national field coordinator and battleground states’ director on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He worked on Trump’s transition team before serving as a senior White House advisor and chief of staff and chief policy officer at the U.S. Department of State, and was executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party.
As the senior White House advisor at the State Department, he advised and engaged on issues, including North Korea, immigration reform, defeating ISIS and ensuring religious freedom. Later he helped lead the $6 billion U.S. global HIV program, which has saved over 15 million lives and led to 2.6 million babies being born HIV-free.
He also spearheaded efforts to bring humanitarian assistance to the people suffering under the socialist regime in Venezuela, a country he lived in briefly during his childhood. He earned his degree from Rutgers University. Matt and his wife Cassie live in Bedford.
COVID-19
Do you support current restrictions on businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19? What else would you do? Do you support a mask mandate? What kind, and how it will be enforced?
Pappas: We must do everything we can to battle this virus – specifically listening to scientists and medical experts to create clear, comprehensive health guidelines for the public to slow the spread of the virus. We know that widespread mask usage and expanding our capacity for testing and contact tracing are essential pieces of our response. Where we continue to see community spread, a mask mandate would also be a reasonable step to take. We must also take reasonable steps to limit crowded gatherings, particularly indoors, and I support the current restrictions the governor has put in place to limit large gatherings.
Mowers: Governor Sununu has shown strong leadership during these uncertain times and has worked diligently to provide guidance that keeps us safe while also getting our economy going. I support continued efforts to open the economy in a way that ensures the health and safety of our communities.
At the federal level, we must continue to work with diagnostic and testing manufacturers to ramp up rapid testing capabilities, and then develop public-private partnerships with key supply chain companies to ensure our economy continues to grow while protecting the health of employees. Small businesses must also be given the same opportunities to function as large retail box stores — while we want everyone to remain healthy, government cannot pick winners and losers and determine which businesses are permitted to operate.
As someone who worked in public health, I do choose to wear a mask, but I do not support a national or statewide mask mandate.
Granite Staters and businesses are smart enough and responsible enough to take steps to protect themselves and others without a mandate.
What kind of additional stimulus package do you support, especially for small businesses? And how would it differ from previous packages?
Pappas: I’ve been pushing for leaders on both sides of the aisle to come together to enact targeted COVID relief to provide needed help to our workers and small businesses. Any package must include additional funding for another round of Paycheck Protection Program loans. This support should be targeted to small businesses that continue to lose revenue.
I am leading the push in Congress to expand tax credits for small businesses to help prevent additional layoffs. I’m the author of a bill passed by the House that will enable businesses participating in PPP to also claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit — something that isn’t permitted under current tax law. In addition, I co-sponsored a bill to require SBA to establish a streamlined refinancing process for small businesses that received a PPP loan.
Mowers: We need to provide targeted relief for small businesses, especially those in industries disproportionately affected by shutdowns including restaurants, hospitality and seasonable businesses. Funding should be made available for state and local governments for expenditures related to COVID-19, including school districts that should also be reimbursed for expenditures for necessary equipment purchased to allow them to safely reopen schools. We should also make sure that any additional stimulus bills include incentives for companies to bring critical manufacturing back to the U.S. and measures to strengthen our PPE supply chain.
Should businesses receive any special liability protection?
Pappas: Businesses everywhere are struggling. We need to ensure that they have the support they need to safely open and take prudent measures to keep their employees and customers safe. I believe small businesses that follow health guidelines should have a safe harbor during the pandemic.
Mowers: Businesses need enhanced liability protections to protect them from Covid-19 related lawsuits as they reopen. Fear of litigation is keeping businesses from reopening, putting people’s livelihoods at risk.
Labor and Employment
What should the minimum wage be? Why?
Pappas: I support gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour, phased in over six years. The minimum wage hasn’t been raised in 10 years, and it’s important that it keeps pace with the cost of living.
Mowers: The federal minimum wage should remain at current levels while continuing to provide states the ability to make decisions in their best interests. Current proposals supported by the Democratic majority to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour or even higher will drastically raise costs for small businesses and ultimately lead them to hire fewer workers and create fewer jobs. It would ultimately lead to a negative impact on the economy, especially during this delicate time.
Should federally-enhanced unemployment benefits and expanded eligibility for benefits continue? For how much, how long and why?
Pappas: I’ve been working with my colleagues in Congress to make sure that folks who are out of work through no fault of their own are able to make ends meet during this extremely difficult time. I support finding a compromise on enhanced unemployment payments through January that would help Americans who are out of work due to the pandemic. These payments should then be reduced in line with improving economic conditions.
Mowers: Americans are ready to get back to work in a safe manner and environment, and that should continue to be encouraged. In part because of Governor Sununu’s leadership, our economy is moving again, and we need to keep it going. We are also compassionate for those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and while we should provide assistance for those who remain unemployed, the government cannot continue to pay individuals more than they made when working full time or it will lead to economic stagnation.
Do you support paid family and medical leave? To what level and in what form?
Pappas: As a small business owner, I know it’s important to invest in employees. The pandemic has shown us that workers shouldn’t have to choose between their paychecks and caring for family members. I supported a bipartisan parental leave provision for federal workers and also will support a federal paid family leave system.
Mowers: Working parents should be able to receive paid family and medical leave through their employer. Republicans in Congress have proposed a budget-neutral solution for paid family leave by allowing working parents to access benefits early. Unfortunately, progress on this issue has stalled because the Democratic majority is proposing a tax increase on businesses and workers instead.
Taxes
Do you think that current state business tax rates or federal corporate rates remain the same, go up or go down during your term?
Pappas: I support comprehensive tax reform that offers relief to middle-class families and Main Street businesses. We should amend the tax code to encourage innovation and incentivize companies to keep jobs here in America instead of outsourcing production overseas. In Congress, I worked with Republicans to cut taxes that were contributing to the high cost of healthcare, and I’m now fighting to establish new tax credits to help Granite State small businesses keep workers on their payrolls and emerge from this economic crisis stronger than ever.
Mowers: I supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cut taxes for small businesses and working families while also ensuring that America remains a beacon for job creation and investment. Currently, the Democratic majority in the House is proposing large and broad-based tax increases, even during the current pandemic — I will oppose those efforts and work to extend the tax cuts that have benefited the American people. New Hampshire especially benefits because of our already lowtax environment. I’m proud to stand with Gov. Chris Sununu as he protects the New Hampshire advantage.
What other changes would you propose in other taxes that affect business?
Pappas: I introduced legislation to stop other states from forcing New Hampshire businesses to collect online sales taxes and worked across party lines to successfully repeal the health insurance tax, the medical device tax and the so-called “Cadillac” tax. In addition, I’ve led the push to suspend the truck excise tax, co-sponsored the JOBS Credit Act to expand tax credits for small businesses, and helped introduce the Multi-State Workers Tax Fairness Act to bar Massachusetts from unfairly charging New Hampshire residents an income tax while they work from home during this pandemic.
Mowers: In Congress, I will vote to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions permanent, which will benefit New Hampshire’s businesses and working families.
We have to keep our businesses competitive in the global economy by keeping tax rates low. Making the tax cuts permanent for middle-class families will allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money and use it as they see fit instead of handing it over to government bureaucrats. Especially during a pandemic and these uncertain economic times, we cannot even entertain raising taxes the way my opponent and the majority in Congress is currently proposing — this would cause catastrophic economic consequences.
Housing
What would you do to increase the availability of workforce housing?
Pappas: A lack of affordable housing in New Hampshire has a huge impact on our economy. When housing prices are too high, it becomes much harder for young families to move to New Hampshire and makes it more and more difficult for businesses to attract workers to the state. The Moving Forward Act would invest $100 billion to construct and preserve 1.8 million affordable homes, including support for public housing capital repairs and strengthening the National Housing Trust Fund. It would also expand and improve the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program by incentivizing affordability and development in rural communities. This would help build affordable housing in communities all across our state, making it easier for businesses to attract new workers and supporting the development of our workforce.
Mowers: New Hampshire’s working families should be able to rent or own a safe and affordable home. That’s why I support extending tax cuts to put more money in their hands instead of giving it to government bureaucrats. We should also encourage local governments to encourage new housing construction in ways that fit with community needs and their environment. Bringing a new generation’s perspective on this issue is helpful, which helped push legislation on this matter in the New Hampshire House.
Infrastructure
Tell us your plan to improve infrastructure and what should be the top priority: roads, rail, broadband, the grid or another concern?
Pappas: Our top priority should be passing a new five-year infrastructure package that gives New Hampshire its fair share of federal infrastructure funding and strengthens “Buy America” provisions. In Congress, I led a bipartisan effort to stop the federal government from cutting $7.6 billion in highway funding — a move which would have cut funding for New Hampshire’s roads and bridges by $37 million.
I’ve also shaped a major infrastructure package as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee which would deliver $1.3 billion to support New Hampshire’s infrastructure — a 30% increase over current funding. That will allow us to repair our roads and bridges, protect our water from PFAS contamination, expand commuter rail, expand rural broadband, invest in affordable housing and modernize our healthcare infrastructure.
Mowers: We have to improve all aspects of our infrastructure to keep our economy moving. The best way to do that is to invest in public-private partnerships to reduce the burden on taxpayers. During this time when many Granite Staters are working and learning from home, broadband access should be a top priority and federal resources should be available for this and to complete high priority infrastructure projects.
Healthcare
What have you done and will you do to lower healthcare costs for businesses?
Pappas: I believe every American should have access to affordable health care. That’s why I worked to pass legislation to support our hospitals and community health centers, lower premium costs, and address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs by bringing the big drug companies to the table to negotiate lower prices.
I have introduced and passed legislation in the House to protect coverage for substance use disorder and to make it easier for low-income seniors to get access to prescription drugs. These measures would lower healthcare costs across the board for all Granite Staters. I also voted to repeal the medical device tax, the health insurance tax and the so-called “Cadillac” tax, and all three of those changes were signed into law in 2019. The Cadillac tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage in particular had an unfair impact on businesses, and I was glad to see it repealed.
Mowers: Healthcare costs for individuals, families and small businesses have skyrocketed as a result of burdensome Obamacare mandates. In Congress, I’ll work to replace Obamacare with a healthcare plan that covers preexisting conditions, lowers the cost of healthcare for working families and provides additional affordable healthcare options for small businesses and employers.
We also need price transparency to drive down healthcare costs, so patients know how much procedures and operations actually cost them and their insurer. Increasing the tax deductibility for Health Savings Accounts will also encourage investment into personal healthcare that will provide additional set-aside resources for individuals to use for routine healthcare costs or catastrophic events. No working person should be without affordable healthcare coverage, and neither should anyone who is unable to work.
Energy
What specific measures would you support or oppose to lower the economic and environmental costs of energy?
Pappas: I believe that if New Hampshire wants to maintain and promote a competitive economy, then we need to adopt greener ways of doing business. I’ve been advocating for the U.S. to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 by co-sponsoring the 100% Clean Economy Act, and I am a strong supporter of developing New Hampshire’s renewable energy portfolio, including offshore wind and solar.
I’ve been fighting to expand incentives and tax credits, so that our state can continue to take part in the clean energy revolution that is underway. I’ve introduced legislation to bolster our nation’s renewable energy storage capabilities (a critical aspect of building a more resilient grid), reduce our carbon footprint and fully realize our nation’s renewable energy potential.
New Hampshire’s economy is largely driven by tourism thanks to our state’s natural beauty, and it’s important that we preserve our coastlines and natural lands from oil and gas exploitation.
Mowers: New Hampshire has some of the highest energy costs in the country. We need to invest in forms of energy that reduce costs for Granite Staters, including renewable sources like solar and natural gas.
We should absolutely prioritize protecting our environment, but solutions like the Green New Deal would damage our economy and cost taxpayers trillions of dollars.
We have to take a realistic approach to protecting our environment and reducing energy costs and that means encouraging investment in new energy technologies that will provide a pathway to sustainable and affordable energy for the region.
Bob Sanders can be reached at bsanders@nhbr.com. These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
