Candidate for
United States Representative; District 1; Republican Party

Nathan Bech (R), 33 a native of West Springfield, Massachusetts announced today his bid for United States Representative in the Massachusetts 1st Congressional District. Bech is the 18th Iraq Veteran to seek a seat in congress this year. Bech is a veteran of both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Bech announced from four stops around the district including Pittsfield, Greenfield, Fitchburg and his campaign headquarters at 86 Elm St. in West Springfield. The campaign collected over 4,200 signatures to meet the ballot access requirement and delivered them to the Secretary of State's office immediately following his speech.

Bech told the group that if elected, his top priorities will be improving the economy, reducing the cost of quality healthcare in the United States and ending the war in Iraq in a way that creates long term stability in the Middle East. Bech believes that his first hand experience on the battlefield will give him the perspective to find real solutions for our military. Less than twenty-two percent of the members of congress have ever worn the uniform, the lowest in our country's history according to Iraq Veterans for Congress. The lack of military experience in Congress is something that Bech questions, "How are they supposed to hold our generals and civilian defense leadership accountable when they do not speak the same language?"

Bech, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute, knows about language. He is fluent in both Russian and Spanish. Bech enlisted in the Army Reserve after graduating from West Springfield High School and joined the active Army after September 11th 2001 to attend Officer Candidate School. A newly minted Lieutenant, Bech deployed as an infantry embedded intelligence officer to serve along the Pakistan border in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. Returning from Afghanistan he volunteered for another tour in the "War on Terror." This time his Russian language skills were put to work in Iraq where he worked directly with US ally, the Republic of Georgia's 13th Shavnabada Infantry Battalion.

Bech holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Colgate University. He has also studied abroad in India, Egypt and Israel and has continued to study Middle East Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Bech's studies were interrupted when his father died of cancer in 1999 and he came home to take care of his parents' West Springfield based property management business. His father's struggle made Bech acutely aware of real needs in the healthcare industry. "Insuring every American is not enough," explains Bech "We must reduce the cost of quality healthcare though investments in prevention, with patient centered transparency in cost and results and by making sure the price of frivolous lawsuits are not passed on to patients." Bech also supports allowing veterans to get a voucher that would allow them to get care at any healthcare facility instead of limiting them to the VA health system.