October 16, 2006

ROMNEY ACCEPTS THE CLAUDE D. PEPPER AWARD

Praised for health care leadership, expanding home care

Governor Mitt Romney today accepted the Claude D. Pepper Award from the National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), the nation’s oldest trade group representing home care agencies and hospice organizations, for his leadership on health care and in expanding home care options for seniors.

“America faces a tidal wave of retiring Baby Boomers and a national health care system ill prepared to deal with this sweeping generational change,” said NAHC President Val J. Halamandaris. “Luckily, we do have leaders with vision among us, including Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Governor Romney has seen the future and, through his outstanding leadership, helped lift the health care burden for many, both in his state and across the nation. He exemplifies caring and compassion in his approach to health care, and NAHC is pleased to honor him with our highest award.”

Named for the late Democratic Congressman Claude D. Pepper of Florida, the award honors the one individual in the public or private sector who has done the most over the past year to improve the quality of life for aged, infirm or disabled Americans.

Romney said he was honored to receive the award and credited the Legislature for working with him in a bipartisan fashion to make progress in health care.

“Medical science is advancing across frontiers that would have seemed like science fiction not so long ago. It’s finally time for our health care policies to catch up,” said Romney.

In April, 2006, Romney signed first-in-the-nation legislation to provide health insurance to all Massachusetts citizens using a private, market-based reform that emphasizes personal responsibility – without raising taxes, and without requiring a government takeover.

Romney also made it easier for seniors to age in their own homes when in August, 2006 he signed the “Equal Choices” bill, which makes it possible for people eligible for long-term care through the state Medicaid program to receive medical services in the least restrictive and most appropriate setting.

Romney's Commonwealth PAC Adds Three Key Advisors; Press Secretary

October 16, 2006 - Heading into the final stretch before the mid-term elections next month, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PAC today announced the addition of three top political advisors and a press secretary to his Commonwealth PAC team.

The three advisors, Sally Bradshaw, Noam Neusner, and Barbara Comstock will assist the PAC as it focuses on several key Republican races across the country. All three have extensive political and policy experience in both national and local Republican politics.

"I am pleased that Sally, Noam and Barbara have agreed to lend us their political and policy expertise," Governor Romney said. "This last month will be critical as Republicans fight to keep control of Governorships and the U.S. House and Senate."

The Commonwealth PAC also added Jared Young as Press Secretary for the PAC to handle press relations during these critical closing weeks.

Sally Bradshaw has an extensive career in federal and state government and the political arena, most recently serving as Governor Jeb Bush's Chief of Staff from January of 1999 through December of 2000. Bradshaw served as senior Campaign Advisor to the Bush-Brogan 2002 re-election campaign. She also managed Bush's 1998 gubernatorial bid, a position she also held in 1994. She has lived in Florida since 1991, holding a variety of political positions including Political Director of the Republican Party of Florida, Executive Director of the 1992 Florida Bush-Quayle campaign, and Staff Director for the House Republican Office. She has also served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, a non-profit grassroots public policy institute. Before moving to Florida, Bradshaw worked at the White House, where she was an Associate Director for the Office of Political Affairs from 1989-1991. She also served as a regional field coordinator for the Bush for President campaign in 1988.

Noam Neusner was President George W. Bush's primary speechwriter on domestic policy matters, including tax relief, Medicare reform, and energy. He also served as Joshua Bolten's Director of Communications and Strategic Planning at the Office of Management and Budget, a cabinet-level agency in charge of producing the federal budget. While there, he oversaw the agency's external and internal communications and was part of Bolten's senior staff. Neusner is an experienced communications strategist, speechwriter, journalist, and author. He is the founding principal of Neusner Communications LLC, a firm specializing in strategic communications, speechwriting, and policy-specific writing. Neusner's experience as a journalist includes work at the Tampa Tribune, Bloomberg News, and U.S. News and World Report.

Barbara Comstock is the former director of the Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice, under Attorney General John Ashcroft. She also served as a Bush/Cheney 2004 media surrogate and worked with outside conservative groups on the Supreme Court nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. In the 2000 election, Comstock served as the director of research and strategic planning at the Republican National Committee where she was responsible for developing and managing the research operations utilized by the Bush 2000 campaign. In 2001, she developed the RNC's "Winning Women" communications initiative focusing on outreach to women voters. Her experience on Capitol Hill includes the positions of chief counsel/chief investigative counsel and senior counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and as a senior staffer to Rep. Frank Wolf (R- Va.) Comstock has been involved in numerous Republican campaigns and conventions, including serving as a Republican convention delegate and working on the Republican Platform Committee.

Jared Young has extensive communications experience. Most recently, he worked as a Senior Media Associate at The Heritage Foundation, where he focused on National Security issues and Capitol Hill outreach. Prior to that, he served for 10 months in Iraq as a Senior Press Advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority and later as the Director of the International Press Center in Baghdad. Young's Capitol Hill experience includes serving as the Deputy Communications Director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and in the press office to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK). He was also the Press Secretary for Inhofe's re-election campaign in 2002.

Copied from The Commonwealth PAC.