NH State Representative Steven Smith

CONSUMER ALERT
Attorney General Joseph A. Foster and the Public Utilities Commission’s Director of Consumer Affairs Amanda O. Noonan warn New Hampshire utility customers about a scam currently operating in the state. A number of consumers have complained of receiving calls from individuals pretending to be with the customer’s utility company. The caller says that the customer has a past due balance on his or her utility account and then threatens the customer with disconnection of the utility service unless the delinquent amount is paid. Typically, the calls are made to small business customers late in the day and the customer is given only a few hours to make the payment. These calls are not coming from New Hampshire utility companies. Utility customers who are scheduled for disconnection due to nonpayment receive written notice a minimum of 14 days prior to any proposed disconnection date and the notice includes information about action they can take to maintain service.
Consumers receiving these types of calls should not provide any type of financial information to the caller, including credit card or bank account information, and should not make any payment.

Calls should be reported to the Public Utilities Commission at 1-800-852-3793.

Consumers can also call the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline at 1-888-468-4454.

I was listening to an interview detailing all the federal employees who will stop being paid if the government shuts down. Question – Since the government would shut down because our Congress has failed to discharge their duties and pass a budget for 3 years now, why aren’t they first on the list? Forget these continuing resolutions. When Congress does not discharge one of their most basic duties and protect the stability of the American economy, they should stop being paid and have THEIR budgets frozen until they do. They should also use what we call here a “Call of the House”. In your NH legislature, when we have a deadline and we are at risk of not hitting it, they can lock us in until we do our work. Washington could learn a lot from NH. – Steve

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/ConstitutionDay.htm

Constitution Day

U.S. Constitution

Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. Its first three words –– “We the People” –– affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. For over two centuries the Constitution has remained in force because its framers wisely separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and of the federal and state governments. Since 1789, the Constitution has evolved through amendments to meet the changing needs of a nation now profoundly different from the eighteenth-century world in which its creators lived.

The United States enjoys a representative form of government, shaped by three separate branches as established in the Constitution:

Article I states that “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.”
Article II states that “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
Article III provides for a “judicial Power of the United States.”

A system of checks and balances, which the Constitution also sets forth, limits the powers of each branch.

Article I of the Constitution created and defined the United States Congress, granting to the two houses of the legislative branch such powers as the ability to collect taxes, coin money, raise and support an army, declare war, establish post offices, create patent laws, and establish a federal judicial system. It gave to the Senate the exclusive right to provide advice and consent to the president on treaties and nominations, and the sole power to try and remove from office an impeached governmental official.

More than two centuries after its ratification, the United States Constitution remains a vital and living document, strengthened by amendments, serving as both guide and protector of U.S. citizens and their elected officials. It has survived civil war, economic depressions, assassinations, and even terrorist attacks, to remain a source of wisdom and inspiration.

The creation of the U.S. Constitution depended upon the knowledge, experience and dedication of its framers, just as its endurance depends upon the knowledge and experience of each succeeding generation of Americans. For this reason, it is important for us to learn and understand the governing principles of our nation, set forth in the Constitution.

To encourage all Americans to learn more about the Constitution, Congress in 1956 established Constitution Week, to begin each year on September 17th, the date in 1787 when delegates to the Convention signed the Constitution. In 2004, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia included key provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2005 designating September 17th of each year as Constitution Day and requiring public schools and governmental offices to provide educational programs to promote a better understanding of the Constitution.