Lambert announces “Wake Up Washington” Pledge

For Immediate Release: July 15, 2014

Contact: Josh Davidson,  josh@lambertforcongress.com

Lambert Announces “Wake Up Washington” Pledge

 Challenges Kuster to Make Same Pledge to Constituents

 Nashua – This morning, Marine Corps Colonel (Ret.) and 2^nd District candidate Gary Lambert announced his “Wake Up Washington” pledge. Lambert announced the pledge in front of Representative Ann Kuster’s Nashua office.

“Everywhere I go in the 2nd District and no matter who I talk to, I find that we can almost always agree on this – Washington D.C. doesn’t seem to realize they work for us,” said Lambert. “Folks feel like Washington politicians need to be woken up to the fact that they do work for us – the people.”

The Wake Up Washington Pledge:

 No more than 3 terms. Serving in Congress should not be a career – it should truly be service. If we had term limits, our representatives would be more focused on actually accomplishing something for their constituents rather than on satisfying special interest demands in exchange for campaign donations. I will lead this fight from the front and pledge to serve no more than 3 terms.

No Congressional Pension. A pension is for folks who have worked a full career in a job(s) – it should not be for people who are temporarily serving the public as an elected official. As a member of Congress, I will refuse my pension or donate it to charity.

No budget passed by Congress, No pay for Congress. In every place except Washington, not doing your job has some pretty simple consequences – you get fired and you won’t get paid. In Washington, however, there seem to be no consequences. Harry Reid’s Democratic Senate didn’t pass a budget 3 years in a row from 2010 through 2012. I believe in getting paid for doing a job only if I’ve actually done my job. Therefore, if Congress fails to pass a budget, I will refuse my salary or donate it to charity.

No pay raises for Congress. Out here in the real world beyond Washington D.C., we all know it is completely unethical to vote yourself a pay increase without any kind of accountability. The same should go for Congress. I will not support any kind of pay or benefit increase for Members of Congress and furthermore, I will lead the fight against that effort.

No taxpayer-funded political mass mailings. The tax payer should not be paying for political mass mailers which help a Member of Congress’s chances at reelection. That is unethical and a completely unacceptable use of tax-payer money. If I’m elected, you won’t be receiving any political mass mailers from my office.

 

Background:

 Below please find the entirety of Gary Lambert’s remarks at the press conference:

 

Good morning and thank you all for coming today.

Everywhere I go in the 2nd District, from Nashua to Colebrook, and no matter who I talk to, Republican or Democrat, I find that we can almost always agree on this – Washington D.C. doesn’t seem to realize they work for us. Folks feel like Washington politicians need to be woken up to the fact that they do work for us – the people.

Behind me is the office of one of those Washington politicians who clearly does not think that she works for us. Ann Kuster has spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on political mass mailers designed to convince us she is doing a good job.  Ann Kuster didn’t feel the need to give up her pay even though Congress didn’t do its job and the government shut down. And Ann Kuster votes with special interests, the Obama White House, and Democratic Party leaders every time she gets the chance – that’s why she’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from special interests and liberal elites.

Time after time, Ann Kuster has chosen to act in her own self-interest and chosen Washington D.C. over her constituents. Clearly, Ann Kuster is out for herself, not her constituents.

Growing up, my family was middle class – we got by but we certainly weren’t rich. I was taught to believe in honest, hard work and that integrity and character matter in life. In the Marines, I was taught to lead from the front and set the example. I’ve been living by these lessons my whole life and it’s too late for me to change just because I’m running for Congress.

So here is my pledge to the 2nd District about how I will serve in Congress. Here is my “Wake Up Washington” pledge:

No more than 3 terms. Serving in Congress should not be a career – it should truly be service. If we had term limits, our representatives would be more focused on actually accomplishing something for their constituents rather than on satisfying special interest demands in exchange for campaign donations. I will lead this fight from the front and pledge to serve no more than 3 terms.

No Congressional Pension. A pension is for folks who have worked a full career in a job(s) – it should not be for people who are temporarily serving the public as an elected official. As a member of Congress, I will refuse my pension or donate it to charity.

No budget passed by Congress, No pay for Congress. In every place except Washington, not doing your job has some pretty simple consequences – you get fired and you won’t get paid. In Washington, however, there seem to be no consequences. Harry Reid’s Democratic Senate didn’t pass a budget 3 years in a row from 2010 through 2012. I believe in getting paid for doing a job only if I’ve actually done my job. Therefore, if Congress fails to pass a budget, I will refuse my salary or donate it to charity.

No pay raises for Congress. Out here in the real world beyond Washington D.C., we all know it is completely unethical to vote yourself a pay increase without any kind of accountability. The same should go for Congress. I will not support any kind of pay or benefit increase for Members of Congress and furthermore, I will lead the fight against that effort.

No taxpayer-funded political mass mailings. The tax payer should not be paying for political mass mailers which help a Member of Congress’s chances at reelection. That is unethical and a completely unacceptable use of tax-payer money. If I’m elected, you won’t be receiving any political mass mailers from my office.

Now, I don’t expect many Washington Politicians to make the same pledge to you.  That’s because these promises don’t help politicians– instead they help the constituent, they help the taxpayer. If Ann Kuster truly thought she was accountable to the tax payer, if she truly thought her job is to help the constituents in her district, she would make the same promises to you – but she hasn’t and I seriously doubt she will. Ann Kuster clearly believes the only people she is accountable to are President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and special interests. That’s why folks here in the 2nd District have grown tired of her so-called “service” and are ready to throw her out of office.

Each of these practices I’ve just mentioned contribute to an abused and broken system in Washington. Franking, pensions, life-long politicians, voting yourself a pay raise, and getting paid for not doing your job all play a large part in how dysfunctional Washington has become. They show us that Washington politicians don’t feel they are accountable to their constituents. They show us Washington thinks we work for them rather than the other way around. They show us that we can’t solve our problems and confront our challenges until we “Wake Up Washington.”

That effort starts today. As we head towards the fall, let’s all work together to send Ann Kuster and Washington a message that they need to wake up and start working for us.

Thank you coming out today.