Education is the key to maintaining America’s competitive advantage in the world. Jeanne Shaheen believes the federal government must become a full partner in public education by fully funding special education, reforming No Child Left Behind, and making new critical investments in early learning and lifelong learning. And, Jeanne will lead the fight to reduce college costs for middle-class families.

Today, families and small businesses across New Hampshire are struggling and Washington just doesn’t get it. Health care and college are increasingly unaffordable. Wages are stagnant. Home values have dropped. Gas prices are unbearably high. And people are legitimately frightened about how high heating fuel costs will be this coming winter.

Instead of taking real action to address these major challenges, Washington for the last six years has been listening to the big oil and drug companies and Wall Street while leaving middle class families and small businesses behind.

With John Sununu’s help, George Bush’s failed economic policies have driven our economy into the ground, and, still, they promote this same failed direction.

Jeanne Shaheen believes we need a new economic direction, one that strengthens the backbone of our economy – small businesses and middle class families – and spurs the growth of emerging industries like medical research and clean alternative energy.

As Governor, Jeanne Shaheen strengthened New Hampshire’s economy, leading to the creation of over 66,000 new jobs. She did it by enacting an economic agenda that put the needs of families and small businesses first while keeping New Hampshire’s tax burden the lowest in the nation the entire six years she was Governor.

Jeanne Shaheen’s father served in Europe during World War II; her husband served in the Army; and her son-in-law Ryan recently served in the Air Force. Shaheen knows that every freedom and right we enjoy today was paid for with the sacrifices of the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces. As Governor, Jeanne Shaheen put our veterans first, signing into law legislation making New Hampshire one of the first states in the nation to give veterans a priority in all state and federal job training programs, adding a new wing to the Tilton veterans home and more.

In the Senate, Shaheen will fight for a full service VA hospital in Manchester and ensure the VA has sufficient funding for health care for all our veterans instead of voting against VA funding. She'll work to expand mental health care benefits and improve treatment instead of voting against mental health funding, and she'll push to expand on successful New Hampshire programs like Veterans Count. Shaheen also believes we must update the VA's disability compensation system and add traumatic brain injury and PTSD to the compensation schedule.

Jeanne Shaheen believes we need a comprehensive approach to energy that addresses both the short-term crushing high prices and our long term energy needs. It’s a national security imperative, an environmental imperative and an economic imperative.

Jeanne Shaheen will work to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home as responsibly and as soon as possible, begin the hard work of rebuilding our alliances, and to help fight global terrorism. Jeanne believes we need a firm date to begin withdrawing our troops and a plan for a phased withdrawal that protects the safety of our men and women in uniform. And she believes it is time to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. We need that money here at home to get our economy moving again.

Health care costs are spiraling out of control and middle class families are struggling to keep pace. Jeanne Shaheen believes we need a universal health care system to cover every single American. She will lead the fight to reduce health care costs by increasing access to preventive care; moving to electronic medical record keeping; and taking on the big drug companies to allow the importation of safe drugs from Canada.

To restore our innovation advantage and create the jobs of tomorrow, Jeanne Shaheen believes we need to invest in emerging industries that will also improve our quality of life, such as clean energy, environmental remediation, stem cell and other medical research, and new technologies.

Washington is borrowing more and more from China and India, saddling our grandchildren with billions and billions in debt, because of runaway spending and giveaways to special interests. As Senator, Jeanne Shaheen will insist we stop the corruption, crack down on no-bid contracts, make every member of Congress put their names on any pork barrel spending they support, and get back to fiscal accountability.

Jeanne Shaheen believes New Hampshire families have the right to the best medical research. In the United States Senate, Jeanne Shaheen will work to ensure that America’s medical researchers are permitted and encouraged to pursue both embryonic and adult stem cell research, with ethical oversight from the National Institutes of Health. Jeanne Shaheen will push to overturn the ban on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines derived since August 2001.

Jeanne Shaheen is a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose. In the United States Senate she will support federal funding of reproductive health care, including crucial preventive care, such as access to family planning and teaching of comprehensive sex education. She will support repeal of the “gag rule” that prohibits international family planning organizations from offering women in poor countries a full range of reproductive health care options. And, Jeanne Shaheen will vote to confirm justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the right to privacy enshrined in our constitution.

Jeanne Shaheen believes in equal rights for all Americans at home and in the workplace. As Governor, Jeanne Shaheen signed the Equal Pay Act allowing workers to seek redress if they are denied equal pay for equal work. In 1997, she was proud to have signed legislation making New Hampshire the 10th state to include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws and supported the passage of the state’s 2007 civil unions law. In the U.S. Senate, she will support non-discrimination legislation (ENDA) to strengthen workplace protections, the Paycheck Fairness Act to prevent and address pay discrimination, and will work to extend hate crimes legislation. Jeanne Shaheen believes that America’s greatness lies in the diversity of our people.

We need a homeland security policy that protects our country from attack and keeps New Hampshire's borders safe, its infrastructure secure, and its response to natural disasters immediate and effective. As Senator, Jeanne Shaheen will work to keep New Hampshire safe by ensuring that our first responders have the support they need from the Department of Homeland Security, and that our power plants, dams, water supplies, airports and port are safe and secure.