Bolstering Public Safety

“Protecting our communities is the most important responsibility of any government, and I am committed to working every day to ensure that all Granite Staters and Americans are safe in the event of an emergency.” – Senator Hassan 

Senator Hassan’s top priority is working to keep Americans safe, secure, and free.

The fentanyl, heroin, and opioid crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing New Hampshire. To combat this crisis, the Senator is focused on a comprehensive approach including strengthening treatment, prevention, recovery, and law enforcement efforts. She joined in introducing the bipartisan INTERDICT Act, which the President signed into law, to help supply Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers with the technology that they need to detect and intercept fentanyl and other illegal synthetic opioids. Senator Hassan is working to ensure that local and state law enforcement has access to the same high-tech screening devices as well.

The Senator is also working to ensure that local law enforcement has the resources that they need to keep our communities safe. Senator Hassan worked to secure significant federal funding for police and fire departments across the state that help pay for necessary equipment and additional staff. She is also focused on making sure that those on the front lines receive the support that they need to improve their mental and physical health, and cosponsored bipartisan legislation – that is now law – to establish suicide-prevention programs for law enforcement.

Additionally, as part of her efforts to keep Americans safe, Senator Hassan is working to combat all forms of terrorism—both foreign terrorist organizations, like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and also homegrown and domestic terrorists. The Senator is focused on priorities including strengthening Visa Security teams that help make decisions about granting U.S. visas to foreign nationals, holding state sponsors of terrorism accountable, and cracking down on terrorist financing.

Senator Hassan is also focused on finding thoughtful solutions to address security and humanitarian challenges at the Southern border. The Senator has visited both the southern and northern borders multiple times, and supports pursuing a range of solutions to strengthen border security, including hiring additional agents, constructing better roads along the border, and providing new technology so that agents on the ground can keep up with the evolving tactics that cartels are using. 

Given the increasing number of cyber threats to government agencies and critical infrastructure, Senator Hassan is working on a range of bipartisan priorities to strengthen cybersecurity efforts. These efforts include partnering with Republican Senator Rob Portman to introduce the DHS Cyber Incident Response Teams Act, to encourage private sector participation to help prevent cyberattacks. Senator Hassan also teamed up with Senator Portman to introduce the bipartisan Hack DHS Act, which the President signed into law, to strengthen cyber defenses at the Department of Homeland Security.

Furthermore, Senator Hassan believes it is long past time that Congress take real action to prevent senseless acts of gun violence. She supports expanding criminal background checks and banning assault weapons that have made it far too easy for dangerous individuals to inflict mass casualties and deaths. She supports legislation to require states to implement extreme risk protection orders – sometimes known as “red flag laws”, which allow courts to issue time-limited restraining orders to restrict access to firearms when there is evidence that an individual is planning to harm them self or others.

Senator Hassan will always place the safety and security of Granite Staters and Americans first, and she will continue to push for bipartisan solutions to tackle our country’s most pressing public safety challenges.

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