Liz Canada (00:00)
welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that dares to ask, have I made it as a real podcast host now that a congressman is here visiting me? My guest today, and I can't believe it still, my guest today is a former New Hampshire state rep, a former county treasurer, stop me if I'm wrong, congressman, at any moment, former county treasurer, former New Hampshire executive councilor shout out to the executive council every time I can.

Chris Pappas (00:14)
Listen.

Liz Canada (00:24)
He is a co-owner of the Puritan Back Room, where my family has eaten a lot of chicken tenders and ice cream over the years. And perhaps most important, he is the U.S. Congressman for District 1, which is my district actually, here in New Hampshire. Congressman Pappas, thank you so much for being here. Thank you, I'm so honored that you're here.

Chris Pappas (00:44)
It's great to be on the show. Thanks very much for having me and just appreciate the way that you're helping to connect people to their government and to the important issues in New Hampshire. So look forward to the conversation here.

Liz Canada (00:55)
Thank you so much. And I love doing this podcast. I have to be honest that it's kind of a big day today. We're recording it on Monday, November 10th.

I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on this because this episode goes live tonight at midnight for Veterans Day. I asked you to come on to talk about veterans.

The federal government has been shut down since October 1st. Late yesterday, we found out that our U.S. senators from New Hampshire had worked on a deal to reopen the government. And with the government shut down, many people have been working without pay, lost their jobs, SNAP benefits have been, you know, withheld, but then they're out and there's a debate with the Trump administration. But I think what's on a lot of people's minds today is that the deal does not appear to include

the changes that folks are looking for for health insurance premiums. And ⁓ I know that I did a little TikTok last week about this and I had a lot of folks write about how much their insurance prices will go up every month if this isn't resolved. And so I'm not asking you to speak for the senators. That would not be fair to you. You are not them. But I am asking you your thoughts on this deal since this is like the breaking news of the day and I have you here. So.

Congressman Pappas, tell me your thoughts on this federal government situation that we're in right now.

Chris Pappas (02:18)
Well, I've said from the beginning that any deal needs to ensure that we are avoiding a huge spike in health insurance premiums this year. And right now we have people shopping for plans on the marketplace. Those plans went live on November 1st. So this is incredibly timely right now. And I'm talking to folks across New Hampshire, whether they're individuals that are getting their own insurance, lot of small businesses and nonprofits that are impacted by this, where they're employees.

will get their health insurance off the exchange. They're seeing huge spikes. I met a guy the other day. He said his premiums doubled from 2025 to 2026, and he's not sure how his family can continue to carry coverage. So everyone's in a tough bind right now. And even if you don't get your health insurance off the exchange, you're likely to see ⁓ huge premium increases because there's a ripple effect across the health care marketplace. So we've got to act on this. And any deal I've said all along that doesn't

⁓ appreciate the need to extend these health care tax credits ⁓ is not going to get my support because this is too important to the people of New Hampshire. We can and should do both things at once, fund the government adequately, and make sure that we're avoiding a huge spike in health care costs in New Hampshire. So, I hope there's still going to be an opportunity in the House to get a bill to the floor to deal with this. Part of the deal was to get a vote in the Senate on a bill. And while that's an important start.

Certainly we can't just have a vote in the Senate and feel good about it. We've got to get it through the House and to the president's desk and get it signed. So I'm trying to work with colleagues to figure out how we work through this political logjam to get something done on health care. And I'm not going to give up. ⁓ And so we'll see. We should be back in session over the next few days. Clearly this shutdown needs to end. And the only way it's going to end is if everyone gets in a room and negotiate something. ⁓ And so it's possible that this will clear.

Liz Canada (03:46)
Hmm.

Chris Pappas (04:08)
and get to the president's desk that will provide government funding through January. ⁓ But there's a lot more work to do to own up to the responsibility we have to create more affordable communities to lower costs, whether that's health care, child care, housing, energy costs. We've seen no action throughout this year. It's been one of the most unproductive sessions of Congress. And so I just don't trust that Speaker Johnson is going to do the right thing and work with us to get a bill to the floor on health care. But I'm going to keep pushing.

Liz Canada (04:35)
Thank you, Congressman. Thank you for fielding that question, even though it was last minute sort of situation, which I think a lot of people woke up this morning feeling that way of being surprised that this was happening. But really appreciate you addressing that. ⁓ Speaking of all those issues that you talked about, health care, employment, housing, all of those things have to do with veterans. It's Veterans Day. This episode is for Veterans Day specifically. And

you know, I know that you serve on a congressional committee on veterans affairs. I like on the podcast to talk about what do these weird committees do in the state house. so I'm hoping you can tell us, I'll just ask it very frankly, what the heck does a congressional committee do? And what does the committee on veterans affairs actually do? What does that actually mean?

Chris Pappas (05:24)
So the issue, ⁓ issues are broken up into committee jurisdictions. So there are individual committees, groups of people on both sides of the aisle that get together and meet and introduce bills, markup bills. So literally go line by line and make edits to bills ⁓ in order to produce a final product, which is a bill that goes to the floor and gets a vote in the House and Senate. And so it's one of the few places, the Veterans Affairs Committee in the House.

where you still get that sense of common purpose, where people treat issues as Americans first. And yeah, like anything else, it's become a little bit more partisan and divided. ⁓ But boy, there's still great opportunities for us to do good things for veterans. And so I'm the top Democrat on a subcommittee that deals with economic opportunity for veterans. And so if you think of the veteran space, then you have that broken down into all these sub areas, whether it's economic opportunity, disability benefits.

Liz Canada (05:53)
Mmm.

Wow.

Chris Pappas (06:18)
health care, memorial affairs that deals with cemeteries. And so each of those issue areas ⁓ has a purview. And so I'm on the economic opportunities subcommittee. So I work very closely with the chair of that committee. And we've introduced a number of bills together, have worked on issues like veteran homelessness and the threat of foreclosure for a lot of our veterans as a result of an important program expiring. And so we worked on a bipartisan bill to create a new program that allow veterans to make partial payments.

Liz Canada (06:39)
Yeah.

Chris Pappas (06:47)
so that they don't face foreclosure, that there's a way that VA can work with them to get on a payment plan to save their home and to keep them in place. So that's just one example of how we can come together and do the right thing for veterans. And here in New Hampshire, we have almost 100,000 veterans. I didn't serve myself, but we've got a lot of great folks around the state that are part of the great tradition that we have in New Hampshire ⁓ of service. And it goes back to our very founding as a state.

Liz Canada (07:13)
Yeah.

Chris Pappas (07:16)
It's a very patriotic state. People love those that wear the uniform of this country. I was just out at a veterans festival this weekend in Merrimack, and there were hundreds of organizations there, grassroots organizations that are New Hampshire based that were started by people in their communities because they identified a gap in areas where there's support for veterans. It could be mental health. ⁓ It could be issues around housing.

Liz Canada (07:20)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Chris Pappas (07:41)
⁓ It could just be local posts from veteran service organizations like the VFW and American Legion that do stuff and create communities for veterans. And so there are hundreds in New Hampshire. I think it just speaks to the way that Granite Staters step up for those who have served and are working to help meet their challenges. know, those that signed up to serve, they signed a blank check up to and including their lives to give that to our country and to what our nation stands for to secure our freedoms and our safety.

Liz Canada (08:05)
Hmm.

Chris Pappas (08:11)
And we all owe them a debt and have to work to pay that down. So I try to do that through my work on the committee in Washington, but there are lots of great ways that that happens at the local level here in New Hampshire. And so we try to lift that up as best we can.

Liz Canada (08:24)
That's incredible. And the committee work and so forth. Let me ask you, how much do you enjoy that kind of those little committee meetings on a scale of one to 10? How much fun are you having in those meetings on a day-to-day basis?

Chris Pappas (08:35)
I

would say it's out of what goes on in DC. I think it's like an eight or a nine. Usually I'm learning something. You get witnesses in that give you their sort of reflections and feedback on legislation, talk about some of the challenges that are out there. So, and there's always a great way that you can kind of bring in the local flavor, whether I get comments from local veterans on legislation or just what you try to do in the legislative process is to create a feedback loop. You were active at home.

Liz Canada (08:39)
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Hmm.

Chris Pappas (09:05)
You get out there, you hear what's on people's minds, hear what the challenges are, and then take that to Washington to inform the legislative work so that it's relevant to folks back home. Because what you don't want to have happen, and I see this happen a lot, is you've got people with good intentions in Washington that design something, that write a bill, design a program, but it like misses the mark in terms of reaching people back home. And so you try to close that gap by making sure that it's...

connected to people's realities. And so I enjoy those hearings a lot. I learned a lot from it. I think it's a great way to sort of exchange ideas. at the end of the day, we need more deliberation, whether it's in Concord or in Washington. We need people that are willing to kind of come out of their corners and engage with each other. And it's still possible to get things over the finish line, even in a divided Washington.

Liz Canada (09:52)
And it sounds like with your committee, you're able to do

that in a bipartisan way, which maybe a lot of folks forget that that actually can still happen out in Congress and in other places for our legislative process and so forth. What do you feel like, what more can be done? How can, know, whether it's everyday granite staters or whether it's Congress or the federal government, what more can be done for veterans in New Hampshire or in the United States?

Chris Pappas (10:19)
Well, we've got work to do here on the health care front. If you think about VA health care, we're the only state in the lower 48 United States without a full service VA hospital. We've got a great medical center in Manchester that has improved a great deal over the last 10, 20 years as a result of veteran input. We've got these local clinics that are scattered around New Hampshire. We also have community-based care, so private ⁓ providers that are part of the VA network.

And New Hampshire benefits a great deal from that. It helps close the gaps in rural and underserved areas of our state. But nothing substitutes for VA-based care with knowledgeable providers that understand veterans, know how to work with veterans. ⁓ And that's often the first place that veterans want to go. So I believe that we need to continue to bolster those services at Manchester, get that full-service hospital designation, and help make sure that there are more clinics around the state that are meeting veterans' needs. So that's one area.

where I think we have some room to improve. I would say I hear a lot from veterans too about the need for alternative therapies, whether that's things like equine therapy or acupuncture and massage therapy. VA has been a little bit hesitant to fully adopt this, to allow doctors to prescribe these therapies in a way that people can really get access to them out in the community. And so we've got ways to go to make sure that.

Liz Canada (11:24)
Hmm. ⁓

Hmm.

Chris Pappas (11:44)
⁓ these things that work and there isn't a one size fits all approach, you for a veteran with PTSD or other afflictions, maybe they're, ⁓ you know, using opioids to manage pain. ⁓ Many of them have found that these alternatives provide for a better quality of life. They're able to get off medications ⁓ and it's also more cost effective. And so we've really been pushing at the urgency, ⁓ urging of veterans in New Hampshire.

Liz Canada (11:54)
Hmm.

Chris Pappas (12:10)
to push VA in the direction of fully embracing some of these options for veterans that I think would really continue to make a difference. So there's a lot out there. think, ⁓ you know, New Hampshire, as I mentioned, lots of organizations that want to do good for veterans around our state. This shouldn't be a government-only approach. And so we do benefit a great deal from nonprofits and the private sector and the way that they help fill in gaps for veterans, too.

Liz Canada (12:33)
That's fantastic. I was able to interview Henry Och from HarborCare. ⁓ Had a full conversation about the supports that they're putting into place for folks who are veterans who are homeless, but also health care, ⁓ employment opportunities, things like that to support veterans. So I know that all of you are working together, whether it's here at the state or ⁓ up in Congress, I guess down in Congress, technically, geographically, not great at geography, but I think that's south. So.

Chris Pappas (12:38)
Is this?

Liz Canada (13:02)
What do you wish people knew about the work that you're doing in terms of Veterans Affairs or that the federal government in general does when it comes to supporting veterans? What do you wish people knew about this work?

Chris Pappas (13:16)
I would say that we've come a long way. ⁓ I mentioned the Manchester VA, and we've had struggles there through the years of it's an old facility, pipes breaking. ⁓ Veteran confidence in terms of VA health care was pretty low, and that's come back because of the veteran engagement and some investments that we've supported that have expanded services, including mental health.

and a new women's clinic that's opening at the Manchester VA. Women are the fastest growing group of veterans in this country, and we need to make sure that VA ⁓ appreciates their experience and is able to fully meet their needs through the health care experience. ⁓ So I would say that that is an important step forward. We've also passed one of the ⁓ first major expansions in ⁓ veterans benefits in a long time, and that was the PACT Act.

Liz Canada (13:47)
Hmm.

Chris Pappas (14:08)
which provides support for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances. And I meet tons of veterans, whether they're in the Vietnam generation with Agent Orange, or more recently, people who've been exposed to burn pits and oil wells that were on fire through the Iraq War that served near incredibly toxic environments and are getting sick or may have a fear of getting sick someday. And this gives them

support and peace of mind that the help will be there through VA, that they don't have to go through a long process to prove that this was caused because of their service, that there's a service connection that is made and a presumption that's made that gives them access to the benefits and supports that VA is able to offer. So those are ⁓ some of the things that I've been thinking about. And I think we still have a ways to go to kind of reach every veteran. But we do better when veterans do enroll in VA care because it allows us to make the case for

more providers, more specialists, more investment in the infrastructure. And so that's long been the message. ⁓ Connect with VA, see if you're eligible, ⁓ see a VA provider. That not only helps you, it helps a lot of other veterans out there that deserve access to those services too.

Liz Canada (15:22)
Thank you, Congressman. And I will put links in the show notes for people to find out how to ⁓ receive benefits or learn more about what benefits might be out there for them, as well as resources in general for veterans. If you or someone you know ⁓ needs support, that there are ways to access those supports as well. Congressman, can I ask you one final question? I know I don't have a lot of time with you, but I do have a silly question for you, because in my research for this little bonus episode, I learned that you were on a game show.

Chris Pappas (15:44)
You sure can. Yeah.

You're right.

Liz Canada (15:52)
I did not know this about you, Congressman. Is this true that you were on a game show a long time ago?

Chris Pappas (15:56)
I have been on a game show. it was probably it was over 10 years ago. I think it was about 15 years ago now. Yeah.

Liz Canada (16:01)
It's been a while is what

the internets tell me. It's been a while. So it looks like you are a game show person. What is your absolute favorite game show that you've ever watched? What is your game show?

Chris Pappas (16:15)
Well, know, growing up, when I was a kid, we only had half day kindergarten in Manchester. And I remember even at that age, the other half of the day, ⁓ if I was afternoon, I was home in the morning and I would get to watch The Price is Right with my mom on TV. And that from an early age was my favorite show. And actually recently there was a thing at the Capitol Center in Concord where they brought The Price is Right live on tour. And so they had kind of a mock.

Liz Canada (16:22)
⁓

Yes!

That's right. Yeah.

Chris Pappas (16:45)
prices right where they call people up from the audience and they bid on the products and they have the showcase show down at the end. So I don't know. I feel like that's the one I connect with the most, but I watch a lot of Jeopardy, sometimes Wheel of Fortune, and I like trivia, generally speaking.

Liz Canada (16:52)
incredible.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, ⁓ Price is Right is such like a, maybe like a universal experience, especially like summertime home, watching it with your grandparents. Like that was my entire childhood, just watching Price is Right every day, day in, day out. Plinko for life. That's what I, that's what I believe in. Congressman Pappas, it's the best one. It is the best one. Congressman, I really appreciate you taking time and chatting with me and for all the work that you're doing in DC and here in New Hampshire as well.

Chris Pappas (17:18)
That's right. That was always the best game. Yeah.

Liz Canada (17:31)
Where can folks maybe find you on Veterans Day? You're going to be out and about, you're going to be in DC, what's your plan for Veterans Day?

Chris Pappas (17:36)
We'll be out around. We're going to visit with some veterans ⁓ at a local post. And so we're really excited to engage with folks on Veterans Day as we always do. one thing I'll remind people is that Veterans Day is a day, right? It's a day on the calendar. And we've got to figure out how the other 364 days of the year, we don't forget the veteran community. That it's not just about the public ceremonies.

Liz Canada (17:57)
That's right.

Chris Pappas (17:59)
that it's about action and deeds and steps that we can take to actually make good on the platitudes and the promises we make on Veterans Day.

Liz Canada (18:09)
That's exactly right. Thank you, Congressman. Beautifully said. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. And it sounds like you guys are going to be getting back to work very soon in D.C. So thank you.

Chris Pappas (18:18)
Nice to be with you. Thanks.