RELEASE: Pappas, Shaheen, and Hassan Announce $700,000 HHS Grant to Expand University of New Hampshire’s Nurse Practitioner Program

Manchester, NH- Today Representative Chris Pappas joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan in announcing a $700,000 grant for the University of New Hampshire’s Nurse Practitioner Program. These funds, granted through Health and Human Service’s Advanced Nursing Education Workforce program, will allow UNH to work with healthcare providers throughout New Hampshire to address the behavioral health and opioid crises. The grant will fund 23 nurse practitioner students annually who will be immersed in high need areas of the state to strengthen the integration of primary and behavioral health. Currently more than 65 percent of UNH nurse practitioner students are committed to working in rural and underserved areas.

Senator Hassan Tours New Computer Forensic Unit at Grafton County Sheriff’s Department

NORTH HAVERHILL – Senator Maggie Hassan today toured the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department’s new computer forensic unit, where she spoke with Grafton County Sheriff Jeff Stiegler and other local law enforcement officers about her efforts to support Northern New Hampshire’s unique public safety challenges as a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Senate Passes Bipartisan Defense Spending Bill, Includes Key Priorities Championed by Senator Hassan to Keep New Hampshire Safe and Secure

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today voted to approve the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which includes key priorities championed by Senator Hassan to keep New Hampshire safe and secure.

Senator Hassan Grills Senior U.S. Border Patrol Officer on Inhumane Conditions at Migrant Child Detention Centers on Southern Border

WASHINGTON – During a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Senator Maggie Hassan today grilled U.S. Border Patrol’s Chief of Law Enforcement Operations Director, Brian Hastings, on the inhumane conditions at migrant dentition centers that have been reported at the southern border. 

Legislation to End Surprise Medical Bills Passes Senate Committee

WASHINGTON – The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on which Senator Maggie Hassan serves, today passed bipartisan legislation to end surprise medical bills. The compromise measure to end surprise medical bills was included in a broader package of legislation to address health care costs called the Lower Health Care Costs Act.

Shaheen & Hassan Join Bipartisan, Bicameral Request for VA Plan to Repay $286 Million in Home Loan Fees Erroneously Charged to Disabled Veterans

(Washington, DC) — Yesterday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers on a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie, requesting information on the Department’s plans to repay $286.4 million in home loan fees that were erroneously charged to thousands of exempted veterans as part of the VA Home Loan Program. The request was led by Senator John Tester (D-MT), the lead Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Congressman Mike Levin (D-CA), Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

Bipartisan Legislation Backed by NH Delegation to Help “Blue Water” Navy Veterans Secure Veterans Benefits Signed into Law

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01), issued the following statements after the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act was signed into law last night. The bipartisan bill was backed by every member of New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation, and would create a permanent legislative fix to help ensure “Blue Water” Navy veterans get the disability and health care benefits they deserve as a result of exposure to the dangerous pesticide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Senator Hassan Recognizes the Students of Gilford High School’s Introduction to Engineering Class as June 2019 Granite Staters of the Month

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today recognized the students of Gilford High School’s Introduction to Engineering class as the June 2019 Granite Staters of the Month for successfully creating personalized, easy-to-use mobility devices for three young students in their community who experience disabilities.

Senator Hassan, Colleagues Urge HELP Committee Leadership to Hold A Hearing on Negative Consequences of Family Separation on Children

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined her colleagues in calling on the leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee – on which she serves – to hold a hearing on the health and safety conditions for migrant children, and the potential negative health effects of the Trump Administration’s family separation policy. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led the letter, which was sent to HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA).

Senator Hassan Calls for Senate to Take Action to Prevent Gun Violence, Expand Background Checks to All Gun Sales

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan took to the Senate floor today to call for her colleagues in the Senate to take action to prevent gun violence and expand background checks to all gun sales. The Senator’s speech comes on the heels of the fourth anniversary of the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and the three-year anniversary of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Shaheen & Hassan Introduce Legislation to Restore Funding for Programs that Help Americans Sign Up for Quality, Affordable Health Insurance

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) worked with a group of Senators led by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Bob Casey (D-PA) to introduce the Expand Navigators’ Resources for Outreach, Learning, and Longevity (ENROLL) Act to restore funding for the Navigator program that helps American families get the information and support they need to find quality health care plans at a price they can afford. The House companion legislation passed as part of H.R. 987 last month, 234-183.

Committee Passes Bipartisan Bill Introduced by Senators Hassan, Lankford to Prevent Government Shutdowns

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today applauded passage of their Prevent Government Shutdowns Act in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today. The Senators’ Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act, which reforms federal grant reporting processes, and Lankford’s Early Participation in Regulations Act to direct agencies to issue advanced notices for major rules, also passed the Committee today.

Bipartisan Hassan-Backed Bills to Strengthen Homeland Security, Bolster Counterterrorism & Cybersecurity Efforts Pass Committee

WASHINGTON – The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, on which Senator Maggie Hassan sits, today voted to approve several bipartisan measures backed by Senator Hassan to strengthen homeland security, bolster counterterrorism and cybersecurity efforts, improve government efficiency, and save taxpayer dollars.

Senator Hassan Highlights Granite State Business Hurt By President Trump’s Tariffs During Finance Committee Hearing With U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan yesterday, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, highlighted the harmful impact that President Trump’s tariffs are having on businesses like NEMO Equipment in Dover, New Hampshire. The Senator specifically raised the importance of having a functional exclusion process in place, so that businesses can make the case to the United States Trade Representative for exempting particular products from the Section 301 tariffs. 

In Major Step Forward to End Surprise Medical Billing, Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Bipartisan Health Costs Legislation

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today joined her colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in holding a hearing on ending the practice of surprise medical billing – an important step in Senator Hassan’s bipartisan efforts to pass legislation to end this absurd practice.

Senators Hassan, Grassley Urge President Trump to Swiftly Fill Critical Inspector General Vacancies to Help Root Out Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), sent a letter to President Donald Trump today, urging him to swiftly nominate qualified individuals to fill critical Inspector General (IG) vacancies across the federal government. 

Senators: “Filling IG vacancies is an important step toward ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.”

Shaheen, Hassan Join Push for Affordable Over-the-Counter Birth Control

(Washington, DC) – Last week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined a group of lawmakers led by U.S Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in introducing the Affordability is Access Act, legislation to make sure over-the-counter birth control is affordable and accessible for women across the country.

Senators Hassan, Shaheen Join in Introducing Bipartisan Legislation to Establish Affordable Housing Task Force

WASHINGTON — Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen this week joined a group of their colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, which aims to better understand and respond to America’s housing affordability crisis by creating a bipartisan housing task force. 

Cortez Masto, Schumer, Klobuchar and Hassan Introduce Legislation to Deter Illegal Robocalls

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today introduced the Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone (DO NOT) Call Act of 2019 with Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). This legislation will improve enforcement and enhance penalties for violations made under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Though the current statute outlaws initiating a robocall without the consent of an individual, these calls continue to surge. In 2017 alone, over 30.5 billion robocalls were initiated. These calls are generally illegal and are frequently used to defraud and scam elderly Americans. In 2015, Americans lost $7.4 billion to telephone scams.

Senators Lankford, Enzi, Peters, Hassan Reintroduce GREAT Act to Standardize Federal Grant Reporting

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Enzi, (R-WY), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today reintroduced the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency (GREAT) Act. The GREAT Act would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the leading administrator of grant programs to create a comprehensive and standardized data structure to cover all data elements reported by recipients of federal awards, including grants and cooperative agreements.