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0000017a-15d9-d736-a57f-17ff8d390000Race: U.S SenateParty: RepublicanPolitical Experience: 2010-2012 - U.S Senate from Massachusetts2004-2010 – Massachusetts State Senate1998-2004 – Massachusetts House of RepresentativesPersonal: Married; lives in RyeEducation: Bachelor’s, Tufts University; J.D., Boston College Law SchoolCampaign WebsiteIssuesBrown says one of the main reasons he is seeking the seat held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act and encourage states to craft their own legislative solutions.A supporter of “Romneycare,” the Massachusetts health care program that includes many of the same components of the ACA, Brown voted to repeal so-called Obamacare in 2010. Yet he acknowledges that benefits offered by the ACA, such as requiring coverage for pre-existing conditions, are important enough to be part of a New Hampshire plan.“We need to repeal Obamacare and we need to put in place something that works for us…. There’s no reason why we can’t do it and also respecting our rights and freedoms and also doing it more competitively.”In late July, Brown began running television ads blaming Shaheen and President Obama for the “immigration crisis on our hands.” He criticized Shaheen for supporting immigration reforms that include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S., which Brown characterizes as “amnesty.”Brown told NHPR’s Brady Carlson that the U.S. needs to “secure our border once and for all.” But he supports allowing foreign students with visas to obtain green cards instead of automatically returning to their country of origin, and he says some workers ought to be allowed to remain in the U.S. if there is a need.“I look at it in different pillars. The first pillar is if we have kids who are here from out of country and they’re going to school, they should get a diploma and the ability to stay here and live and work if they want. That’s a no brainer.If we have people who need seasonal help because we have a service industry in our state, tourism, etc., and there’s needs to be filled, we should allow that to happen…. If you’re looking at executives and other engineers, doctors, etc., and there’s a need and we can’t fill that need in order to keep our businesses vibrant and in our state, we should allow that to happen, no problem.”Brown supports an "all of the above" energy plan that includes federal tax subsidies to encourage the development of solar, geothermal and nuclear energy technologies. A one-time supporter of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for New England states, Brown now opposes cap and trade or a "national energy tax," saying it would increase costs to consumers.

On Campaign Trail, Obamacare Continues To Dominate U.S. Senate Race

NHPR / Michael Brindley

On the campaign trail Monday, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown continued to rail against the Affordable Care Act, taking aim specifically at the employer mandate.

During an event at North Country Tractor in Pembroke, Brown highlighted a part of the health law yet to kick in: a requirement that businesses with 50 or more full-time employees offer health insurance benefits.

The store’s owner says that’s why he’s stopped hiring at 47 employees.

Brown says it’s an example of how so-called Obamacare is hurting New Hampshire businesses.

“You need to allow businesses like this to take the gloves off and go out and hire. That’s how we’re going to have an economic recovery is to make sure we get businesses and individuals having the confidence that the government isn’t going to be there thwarting those efforts.”

The Massachusetts health care law Brown supported while he was a state senator incorporated a similar employer mandate.

For her part, Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen challenged Brown and other Republicans to come up with an alternative.

“They have nothing new to say. Their only answer is they want to repeal the law and when you ask what they’re going to replace it with, they don’t have an answer.”

Later in the day, Brown appeared at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, where he criticized Shaheen for declining to take part in the first U.S. Senate debate.

Michael serves as NHPR's Program Director. Michael came to NHPR in 2012, working as the station's newscast producer/reporter. In 2015, he took on the role of Morning Edition producer. Michael worked for eight years at The Telegraph of Nashua, covering education and working as the metro editor.
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