Press Releases
Senator Hassan Pushes Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Steps Agency is Taking to Better Understand Health Impacts of PFAS
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan yesterday pushed Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the steps the agency is taking to understand how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water is impacting the health of Granite Staters and Americans during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing.
… Continue ReadingAugust 24, 2018
New Hampshire Congressional Delegation Urges ATSDR to Take Additional Steps to Asses PFAS Contamination in Southern New Hampshire Following Concerning Reports that Found High Levels of the Contaminant in Merrimack
WASHINGTON- Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen and Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster sent a letter to Patrick Breysse, Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) yesterday, urging him to take additional steps to assess per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the Merrimack area.
… Continue ReadingAugust 23, 2018
Senator Hassan Votes to Approve Bipartisan FY19 Funding Bill to Bolster National Security, Combat the Opioid Crisis, and Invest in Critical New Hampshire Priorities
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today voted to approve a bipartisan appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2019 that bolsters national security and provides funding for critical New Hampshire priorities, including combating the devastating opioid epidemic, strengthening workforce training, protecting women’s health care, and more. The bill is one of several expected appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins on October 1. Senator Hassan voted for two other bipartisan appropriations bills earlier this summer.
… Continue ReadingAugust 23, 2018
Shaheen, Hassan Help Pass Second Year Increase in Opioid Response Funding
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) issued the following statements after voting for appropriations legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2019 that funds the Departments of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and other agencies.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
Senator Hassan Calls for Judge Kavanaugh’s Hearing to be Delayed Following Yesterday’s News of Criminal Acts Committed by Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort
WASHINGTON – Senator Hassan today called for Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination hearing to be delayed until the Senate and the American people have access to all of the nominee’s documents, particularly regarding checks on the president’s power. Given the convictions and guilty pleas of the President’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort and personal lawyer Michael Cohen, as well as Judge Kavanaugh’s troubling record on executive power, the Senator believes it’s particularly critical that these records be released.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
FCC Heeds Senator Hassan’s Call, Extends Deadline for Mobile Broadband Mapping Challenge Process
WASHINGTON – Heeding Senator Hassan’s call, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has extended for an additional 90 days the deadline to challenge its broadband coverage maps, maps which will be used to determine eligibility for funding to expand mobile broadband through the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) program. This extension will provide 90 additional days for communities to petition the FCC to make more rural areas eligible for mobile broadband funding. Mobility Fund Phase II will provide up to $4.53 billion in support for rural wireless broadband expansion in New Hampshire and across the country over the next 10 years.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
Senators Hassan, Cassidy, Jones, and Young Introduce Bipartisan Synthetic Drug Awareness Act
WASHINGTON – Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Doug Jones (D-AL), and Todd Young (R-IN) yesterday introduced the bipartisan Synthetic Drug Awareness Act of 2018 to help address addiction and the drug abuse epidemic, including the growing use of synthetic drugs, that continues to ravage communities in New Hampshire and across the country. The bipartisan bill would require the Surgeon General to report to Congress on the health effects of new psychoactive substances, including synthetic drugs, on young adults ranging from 12-18 years of age.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
Shaheen, Hassan, & Kuster Announce $1.1M Grant for Hybrid Electric Diesel Buses in Nashua
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Annie Kuster (NH-02) announced a $1.1 million Low or No Emission Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to replace two 2010 diesel trolleys with two new hybrid electric diesel buses, significantly reducing emissions from the city’s fixed route fleet while also increasing fuel efficiency.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
Senator Hassan Questions CMS Administrator Verma on Pharma Scheme to Avoid Paying out Drug Discounts
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan yesterday questioned Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services, about how to prevent big pharmaceutical companies from misclassifying their drugs as ‘generic’ so that the companies can pay out less in the drug discounts mandated under the Medicaid rebate program. Administrator Verma agreed that this systemic problem needs to be addressed and that additional Congressional authority to impose civil monetary penalties on drugmakers who misclassify their products in the Medicaid rebate program would be beneficial.
… Continue ReadingAugust 22, 2018
Senator Hassan Meets with Nominee for Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Senator Hassan meets with Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, nominee for Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). WASHINGTON - Senator Maggie Hassan yesterday met with Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, President Trump's nominee to serve as the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The Office of Science and Technology Policy has been without a director since President Trump's inauguration, and it's the longest period without a director since i… Continue Reading
August 21, 2018
Senator Hassan Statement on Criminal Acts Committed By Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement today after President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight felonies and the President’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight separate felonies:
… Continue ReadingAugust 21, 2018
Senator Hassan Statement on Trump Administration’s Repeal of Clean Power Plan
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan issued the following statement today in response to the Trump Administration’s reckless proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan and severely undermine efforts to restrict greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The Clean Power Plan set the first-ever national limits for power plants that release harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that the Clean Power Plan would prevent 90,000 pediatric asthma attacks and 3,600 premature deaths each year once fully implemented:
… Continue ReadingAugust 20, 2018
Senator Hassan Visits MITRE Corporation, Emphasizes Critical Importance of Innovation in Helping to Keep Granite Staters and Americans Safe
BEDFORD, MA – Senator Maggie Hassan today visited MITRE Corporation, where she highlighted the critical research and development work of the non-profit and the role it plays in helping to keep Granite Staters and Americans safe, secure, and free through the development of innovative technologies. Senator Hassan toured the facility and met with its scientists and researchers about their efforts to invent technologies to help better detect underground smuggling tunnels and to prevent the hacking of internet-connected technologies, and about MITRE’s efforts to use advanced analytics to combat the opioid crisis, as well as their research on bolstering cybersecurity.
… Continue ReadingAugust 17, 2018
Duckworth & Hassan Ask VA Inspector General to Investigate Potential Legal & Ethics Violations by Trump VA Officials
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are requesting a formal investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (IG) into a report that several wealthy friends of Donald Trump have improperly influenced policy and personnel decisions at VA. Last week, a ProPublica investigation revealed how Trump’s friends, who are not government employees and have little relevant experience, have inappropriately dictated a number of VA actions and used the department to advance their own business and personal interests.
… Continue ReadingAugust 16, 2018
Senator Hassan Confronts Health and Human Services Official About Agency’s Failure to Ensure that States are Notified By Federal Agencies When Receiving Unaccompanied Immigrant Children
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today participated in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee hearing, where she confronted Commander Johnathan D. White, Incident Commander in the Office of the Assistance Secretary for Preparedness and Response who is tasked to lead the Unaccompanied Alien Children Reunification mission at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about the agency’s failure to ensure that states are notified by and have support from federal agencies when an unaccompanied immigrant child is placed with a sponsor who lives in those states.
… Continue ReadingAugust 16, 2018
At Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, Senator Hassan Presses FCC Chairman Pai and Commissioners on President Trump’s Portrayal of the Press As the “Enemy of the People”
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today participated in a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, where she pressed Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai, and FCC Commissioners Michael O’Reilly, Brendan Carr, and Jessica Rosenworcel on President Trump’s portrayal of the press as the “enemy of the people.” Senator Hassan’s questioning comes as hundreds of newspapers across the country published editorials today decrying this rhetoric from the President and standing up for the freedom of the press.
… Continue ReadingAugust 16, 2018
Senator Hassan Joins in Introducing Legislation to Help Granite Staters and Americans Hurt by Medical Debt
WASHINGTON – As part of her efforts to help hard-working Granite Staters get ahead and stay ahead, Senator Maggie Hassan today joined her colleagues in introducing the Medical Debt Relief Act. The legislation would prevent medical debt from continuing to damage consumers’ credit scores after it has been paid off or settled, ensuring that otherwise-creditworthy consumers are able to find affordable credit to buy a home or a car or take out a loan.
… Continue ReadingAugust 16, 2018
Shaheen & Hassan Demand Trump Admin Uphold its Duty to Shield U.S. Troops from Predatory Lending & Financial Fraud
(Washington, DC) – In an effort to protect soldiers and their families from abusive financial practices, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are urging the Trump Administration not to abandon its duty to protect our servicemembers and their families under the Military Lending Act (MLA), along with every Democratic member of the U.S. Senate.
… Continue ReadingAugust 15, 2018
Plymouth to Receive More than $5.5 Million in Grants for Water System Upgrades
Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Congresswoman Annie Kuster announced that Plymouth will receive millions in grant funding and loans to make upgrades to city water infrastructure and wastewater systems. The funding and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Rural Development include a grant of $3,450,000.00 and a loan of $5,225,000.00 to make upgrades and improvements to the town’s sewer and wastewater system as well as a grant of $2,104,000.00 and a loan of $2,568,000.00 to replace three miles of outdated and undersized mains and replace the town well field. USDA Rural Development Funding is a program authorized in the Farm Bill. As a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee, Kuster will advocate for robust USDA Rural Development funding.
… Continue ReadingAugust 15, 2018
NH Delegation Statements on NH Application for Federal Opioid Response Grants
(Washington, DC) – Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster released the following statements in response to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ application to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for opioid response funding that the New Hampshire delegation helped secure. As members of the Common Sense Caucus, Senators Shaheen and Hassan helped negotiate for an additional $6 billion in opioid response resources in the budget agreement reached in February, as well as a commitment to set aside a portion of that funding to states hardest hit by the opioid crisis. Kuster and Shea-Porter pressed House leadership and senior appropriators to include increased funding to combat the opioid epidemic during budget negotiations. The delegation also led efforts to change the SAMHSA funding formula that previously put states like New Hampshire with small populations and high mortality rates from opioid overdoses, at a disadvantage. These successful efforts led to a substantial increase in funding available to New Hampshire for opioid response efforts, as the state applies for $22.9 million for each of the two years.
… Continue Reading