“ I have a clear and consistent record of working across party lines to enact responsible legislation, conduct robust oversight, and address important district priorities.

Here are just a few examples:
Capitalizing on Massachusetts’ leadership in the green jobs industry, I co-authored the Green Jobs Act with then-Congresswoman, and now-Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, which was signed into law by President George Bush. That law created national and state job training programs to address job shortages in numerous "green" industries. Similarly, I also worked closely with several Republicans to craft important legislation to make college more affordable and accessible, and this, too, was signed into law by President Bush.

My priority on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has always been to protect taxpayer dollars by preventing waste, fraud and abuse. To this end, I partnered with then-Congressman Leach (R-IA) on introducing legislation to establish a special committee to investigate wartime contracting. This work led to the eventual creation of an independent commission, which identified billions of dollars in waste in Iraq and Afghanistan and a disturbing mismanagement of our wartime contracts and a severe lack of transparency by the Pentagon. I continue to take aggressive action to mitigate these issues and put reforms into place to prevent them from happening again.

I have also worked with a team of elected leaders in Congress and locally, including then-Governor Romney, to make sure Hanscom Air Force Base was not closed during the last base closure round. I have also worked on a bipartisan basis to address flooding and erosion concerns in Newbury and Newburyport as well as water infrastructure priorities in Gloucester.

I will continue to work with my colleagues of all parties, in Washington and Massachusetts, to solve problems facing our country, our local families and our communities. ”

“ During my tenure in the state legislature, I always worked hard to have productive relationships with my Democratic colleagues, setting aside partisan differences to do what is right for my constituents. I was honored to help lead a lengthy fight to ensure that all Massachusetts residents enjoyed the freedom to marry., In this case I found myself at odds with Governor Romney, and many of my republican colleagues, but standing up for individual liberty was the right thing to do.

After our state Supreme Court upheld that the freedom to marry is a fundamental right for everyone, gay or straight, many legislators wanted to act to overturn the Court decision by adding an amendment to our constitution that would have reversed the court ruling. I was proud to join with my colleagues in both parties and stand up for the thousands of couples who deserved recognition under the law. ”