Senator Hassan Cosponsors Bipartisan Legislation to Give NH Law Enforcement Tools to Better Detect Fentanyl, Enhance Officer Safety

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, yesterday cosponsored bipartisan legislation to provide law enforcement officers with better technology to detect and identify synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act establishes a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice to give state and local law enforcement officers access to the same high-tech screening devices that Senator Hassan helped secure for Customs and Broder Protection agents through the bipartisan INTERDICT Act that was signed into law last year.

Senator Hassan Joins Colleagues in Applauding Senate Passage of Bipartisan National POW/MIA Flag Act

Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today applauded the unanimous Senate passage of the National POW/MIA Flag Act, a bipartisan bill to require the POW/MIA Flag to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, every national cemetery, the buildings containing the official offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the office of the Director of the Selective Service System, each major military installation (as designated by the Secretary of Defense), each Department of Veterans Affairs medical center, and each United States Postal Service post office.

Shaheen, Hassan & Coastal New England Senators Introduce Bipartisan Offshore Drilling Ban

(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced legislation to bar oil and gas drilling off the New England shoreline with a bipartisan group of New England Senators led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). While the Trump administration has stalled on releasing the next draft of its 5-year offshore leasing plan, it has not fully abandoned efforts to open areas of the Atlantic continental shelf to offshore drilling.  Oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic puts vital coastline at risk, threatening a central economic engine for New England. 

Senator Hassan Statement in Support of President Trump’s Executive Order to Create Federal Cybersecurity Rotational Program

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement in support of President Trump’s executive order today that creates a federal cybersecurity rotational program. The executive order is in line with bipartisan legislation Senator Hassan cosponsored – and that unanimously passed the Senate this week – to establish a rotational program to attract and retain cybersecurity professionals in the federal government.

Senator Hassan Statement on Trump Administration Court Filing Seeking Repeal of Health Care Law

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement after the Trump Administration formally declared its position that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down in a new court filing. The Department of Justice announced it was changing its position in March.

Shaheen, Hassan & Bipartisan Group Introduce Bill to Protect LGBTQ Americans from Housing Discrimination

(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2019 with a bipartisan group of Senators led by Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME). The bill would add gender identity and sexual orientation to the classes protected from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to ensure equal housing opportunities for all Americans. The FHA prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability but not sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently, 21 states, the District of Columbia, and over 200 localities protect sexual orientation and gender identity in their housing discrimination statutes.

Senators Hassan and Lankford Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Better Assess and Improve Federal Government’s Customer Service

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, and Senator James Lankford (R-OK), chairman of the HSGAC subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, introduced bipartisan legislation today to better assess and improve the customer service experience Americans receive when dealing with federal agencies.  

Senate Passes Bipartisan Hassan-Sponsored Bill to Strengthen Federal Cybersecurity Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate unanimously approved bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and John Hoeven (R-ND) to develop and retain highly-skilled cybersecurity professionals in the federal workforce. Agencies across the federal government face growing cyber threats, but struggle to hire and retain qualified cybersecurity employees.  U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) cosponsored the legislation, which now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. 

Senator Hassan Statement on White House Infrastructure Meeting

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement on today’s meeting about infrastructure between President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other legislators:

Senator Hassan Recognizes Thaddeus Luszey Jr. of Hudson as April 2019 Granite Stater of the Month

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today recognized Thaddeus Luszey Jr. of Hudson as the April 2019 Granite Stater of the Month for his dedication to supporting servicemembers deployed oversees.

Senator Hassan Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Create Innovation Zones in Higher Education and Improve Student Success

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) today introduced the Innovation Zone Act (IZ Act), which would reform the under-utilized and inefficient experimental sites initiative within the Higher Education Act. The IZ Act would rename experimental sites as “innovation zones” to better reflect the program’s mission of encouraging higher education institutions to experiment with strategies to increase student success. 

Senators Hassan, Shaheen Join Colleagues in Calling on Secretary DeVos to Fix Missteps with Implementation of Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

WASHINGTON – Last week, Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined a group of their colleagues in calling on Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to correct the Department’s missteps in implementing the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) program. In the letter, the Senators call on Secretary DeVos to implement a comprehensive strategy to increase the approval rates for loan relief through the program.

In China, Senators Hassan and Coons Meet with Government Officials to Discuss How to Strengthen Efforts to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking that Contributes to Opioid Crisis in the U.S.

BEIJING, CHINA – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Thursday met with the Vice Chairman of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, Liu Yuejin. The Senators stressed the importance of strengthening efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking from China that contributes to the devastating opioid crisis in the United States. China’s National Narcotics Control Commission is similar to the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States.

Senator Hassan Statement on Reports that EPA Will Weaken Standards for Cleaning Up PFAS Contamination

BEIJING, CHINA – Senator Maggie Hassan released the following statement today in response to reports that that the Department of Defense (DOD) successfully pressured the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to weaken its standards for cleaning up per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in groundwater:

Shaheen, Hassan Join Bipartisan Group On Legislation to Eliminate the Military “Widow’s Tax”

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined a bipartisan group of Senators led by Doug Jones (D-AL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) in support of the Military Widow’s Tax Elimination Act of 2019. The bipartisan bill would end the so-called “Widow’s Tax” by repealing the unfair law that prevents as many as 65,000 surviving military spouses nationwide from receiving their full Department of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) survivor benefits. Currently, military widows and widowers who qualify for the VA’s Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) are forced to take prorated annuities from the Survivors Benefits Plan (SBP), even though they elected to pay into the program.

Senators Hassan, Coons Reaffirm Importance of U.S-South Korea Alliance, Achieving Denuclearization

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were in Seoul, where they met with senior officials to reaffirm the U.S.-South Korea alliance and discuss ways to advance shared interests and values, including verifiable denuclearization of the peninsula.

Senator Hassan Statement on Federal Court Ruling to Temporarily Block Trump Administration’s Domestic Gag Rule

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today released the following statement after the United States District Court for the District of Oregon issued a preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration’s domestic gag rule. If imposed, the domestic gag rule would undermine women’s access to critical health services at Title X family planning programs such as Planned Parenthood.

Senators Hassan, Coons Reinforce Importance of U.S.-Japan Alliance in Tokyo

TOKYO – Earlier this week, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were in Tokyo, where they met with senior officials to reinforce the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance and discuss ways to advanced shared interests and values.

Senators Hassan, Shaheen Cosponsor Bipartisan TRACED Act to Crack Down on Illegal Robocall Scams

WASHINGTON – Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen recently cosponsored bipartisan legislation to address the increasing number of robocall scams targeting Granite Staters and Americans.  The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act gives regulators more time to find scammers, increases civil forfeiture penalties on those caught, promotes call authentication and blocking adoption, and brings relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general together to evaluate policies and resources needed to better prosecute and deter illegal robocalls.

Senator Hassan Statement on Release of Special Counsel Mueller’s Report

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement today following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report: