My agenda for Congress will tackle the most urgent problems facing our state and our nation.

Secure the border. The open-door policy of the Democrats has been disastrous for our nation. The illegal drugs streaming across the border have led to overdose deaths, family heartbreak, and destroyed lives right here in New Hampshire. Human trafficking has become an epidemic. Cities and towns have seen an unsustainable drain on public services.

Reduce taxes. The federal government takes too much of our hard-earned money. Under high taxes, families are forced to make tough choices when the bills come due at the end of the month, and small businesses are unable to expand, grow, and create jobs.

Cut wasteful spending. Both Democrats and Republicans in Washington spend too much. The federal government is flooding the economy with borrowed money, and the result has been runaway inflation — a hidden tax on everyone that raises the prices on gas, groceries, housing, and consumer goods.

Put America first. America faces unprecedented challenges here at home. We need to confront the threat China poses to our economy and our national security. And instead of issuing blank checks to foreign countries — many of which hate us — we need to address our own crumbling infrastructure and simply let taxpayers keep more of what they earn.

Follow the Constitution. Our Founders believed in liberty and understood that the rights of the individual come first. Those rights include the freedom of speech, religion, and assembly and the right to keep and bear arms. Those rights include the freedom from an intrusive and unchecked government. To protect those rights, our Founders designed a federal government with limited powers. It’s long past time that Congress uses its constitutional power to rein in the size, scope, and intrusiveness of government.

Those are some of the common-sense solutions I want to bring to Washington. Congress is supposed to be responsive to the people and accountable to the voters. We need to send businessmen, public servants, and leaders with deep community ties to represent us in Washington.

I’m a New Hampshire native of the Seacoast. I’m the president and owner of R.E. Prescott Company, a wholesale distributor and manufacturer of water treatment systems, and as an engineer, I designed some of our systems for removing arsenic and radon from water.

I am a small businessman who personally understands what it means to sign both the front and back end of a paycheck. In public life, I served five terms as a New Hampshire state senator and two terms on the Executive Council. My wife, Susan, and I have been married for 41 years, and we have five grown children and eight grandchildren.

Every generation has a responsibility to protect and preserve America. We are challenged to pass along an America that is strong, prosperous, and free. Right now, we are facing problems that, if left unsolved, will burden the next generations with crippling debt, a weaker economy, less hope for the future, and less freedom.

It’s time to replace Congressman Chris Pappas by sending a proven conservative problem-solver to Congress. I hope to earn your support.