CONCORD - House Speaker William O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, has named Rep. Peter Silva, R-Nashua, as House Majority Leader, replacing D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, who resigned over the weekend.

Silva has served as Deputy Majority Leader and also serves on the Judiciary Committee in his second legislative term representing Wards 5, 8 & 9 in Nashua. Silva has named Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Stepanek, R-Amherst, as his replacement as Deputy Majority Leader. Stepanek is currently serving in his fourth term representing the towns of Amherst and Milford.

O'Brien said in a press release, "Pete Silva has shown a tremendous ability to pull diverse elements of the Republican caucus together over a short period of time. He is a leader on the Judiciary Committee and understands the importance of bringing unity around Republican principles of low taxes, limited government and personal freedom. He has also developed a strong relationship with many of the House freshmen, who constitute about half of the Republican caucus, and has worked closely with them in ensuring that their voices are heard. Pete is the right person to lead the caucus as we close out the end of this legislative session and work on delivering many important priorities to the citizens of New Hampshire. As the former Deputy, he will also bring continuity to the office and
ensure a seamless transition over the next two weeks."

Silva said in a prepared statement, "We have a lot of work to do as a Majority to accomplish a number of key goals remaining this term. We are currently working on important issues such as giving the voters a chance to vote on constitutional amendments on education funding, on requiring a supermajority to raise taxes and fees and on banning an income tax, as well as bringing integrity to the voting both with voter ID and moving forward to stop welfare fraud. We have a little over a week to work through these issues before the House votes on them, and the Republican caucus must stand united in our efforts to give a more fiscally responsible, more accountable government to the citizens of the state. As Majority Leader, my focus will be on ensuring that House Republicans keep our promises to protect and rebuild New Hampshire's low tax, limited government environment so that we can bring more good new jobs here and make our state the clear choice for individuals and businesses to want to be."