In The News
Democratic lawmakers call on Trump to end attacks on Affordable Care Act
by Ray Brewer
WASHINGTON - About two dozen Democratic lawmakers, including New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, called on the Trump administration on Tuesday to halt its fight to have the Affordable Care Act thrown out. The lawmakers stood on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and called on President Donald Trump to end attempts to get rid of the ACA. Trump has claimed that people with pre-existing conditions will not have to worry about losing their health care, but lawmakers said they will have no pr… Continue Reading
April 01, 2019
Sen. Shaheen introduces three bills related to health insurance
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is introducing three bills designed to help people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. One bill would reduce deductibles and increase cost-sharing assistance, another would help control costs for patients who need out-of-network care and the third would expand who qualifies for premium tax credits. "What we're trying to do is expand help for people who need help with the cost of coverage, and it would be done on … Continue Reading
March 25, 2019
Delegation Urges Trump To Spare Portsmouth Shipyard Projects From Border Wall Funding Pool
by Annie Ropeik
Federal lawmakers want Portsmouth Naval Shipyard spared from budget cuts tied to plans for a wall at the southern border. President Trump hopes to use his recent emergency declaration to reallocate potentially billions of dollars from military projects and other funding areas. In a recent fact sheet, the Department of Defense says it won't consider tapping into any projects slated for funding before September. The upcoming projects listed the Seacoast shipyard, which employs thousands of peop… Continue Reading
March 21, 2019
NH gets nearly $12M to fight opioid epidemic
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire's congressional delegation and Gov. Chris Sununu are welcoming nearly $12 million in additional funding to fight the opioid epidemic. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the funding Wednesday. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the resources will help save lives. Sen. Maggie Hassan said she's pleased the Trump administration heeded calls for additional funding. Rep. Annie Kuster said the funding will help bolster local efforts to e… Continue Reading
March 20, 2019
Senators inquire about DOD, EPA stance on PFAS
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH -- U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan sent a letter to leaders of the Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency requesting they release communications they had with the White House about PFAS chemicals. Shaheen and Hassan were among 16 senators who sent the letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler concerning the establishment of federal drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals. The letter follows media rep… Continue Reading
March 19, 2019
Congressional delegation vows to fight for NBRC funding
by Barbara Tetreault
COOS COUNTY - The state's congressional delegation is vowing to fight President Donald Trump's budget plan to eliminate funding for the Northern Border Regional Commission. Trump's fiscal year 2020 budget proposal eliminates funding for the commission, which provides money for economic and community development projects in northern sections of New England and New York. Since 2010, the commission has awarded over $10 million to 59 projects in New Hampshire. All projects are required to … Continue Reading
March 15, 2019
Shaheen seeks help to stop youth vaping
by Brian Early
DOVER -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen met with a panel that included student members of Dover Youth to Youth Friday to talk about her legislation that would impose fees on manufacturers and importers of e-cigarettes. Shaheen, a Democrat who lives in Madbury, also sought the advice of the students during a roundtable discussion at the Gourmet Table in the Dover High School on how to best educate youth about the dangers of using e-cigarettes. Shaheen recently introduced federal legislation called the E-c… Continue Reading
March 15, 2019
Shaheen, Collins, reintroduce diabetes management bill
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Maine Sen. Susan Collins have reintroduced a bill to expand Medicare coverage for diabetes management. The bill would allow diabetes educators to help train Medicare patients on how to manage their glucose, maintain a healthy weight, eat healthy foods, and manage their insulin levels. Shaheen, a Democrat, said the training has been shown to reduce diabetic-related health risks. Collins, a Republican, said it would lower the cost of health care by preventin… Continue Reading
March 14, 2019
Shaheen questions defense secretary on PFAS safeguards
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen questioned Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan Thursday about a published report that states the Pentagon is lobbying the Trump administration to adopt a weaker standard for PFAS chemicals. The New York Times reported the Pentagon is lobbying the administration to weaken the PFAS standard for groundwater as the Environmental Protection Agency is working to set tougher standards. Shaheen, D-N.H., told Shanahan she was "quite concerned" about the New Yo… Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Army Corps’ budget includes $200K for Rye Harbor dredging
RYE -- U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Wednesday reported the Army Corps of Engineers included $200,000 in its fiscal year 2020 budget to move forward with dredging plans for Rye Harbor. The Corps' budget was released following the unveiling of President Trump's FY20 budget proposal to Congress earlier this week. "I'm glad to see the Corps prioritize dredging of Rye Harbor in their annual budget - the economic vitality of our local businesses and fishing industry are at stake due to the shoaling," … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
Law protects waterways, calls Saint-Gaudens historical park
The wide-ranging public lands bill signed into law by President Donald Trump has provisions that protect some New Hampshire waterways and redesignates Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site as a "National Historical Park." New Hampshire's congressional delegation has championed the provisions. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the redesignation of Saint-Gaudens finally recognizes the landmark appropriately "for its natural beauty, historical architecture and art." The legislation also will designate port… Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
Shipyard group to Trump: ‘Hands off PNSY, please’
by Hadley Barndollar
KITTERY, Maine - To open its quarterly meeting Tuesday, the president of the Seacoast Shipyard Association sent a strong message aimed at the Trump administration: "Hands off the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, please." The statement of third generation, 40-plus year shipyarder John Joyal referred to the possibility that military construction funds already allocated to projects at the shipyard, and others around the country, may be raided to build the southern border wall. It's currently unknown whi… Continue Reading
March 11, 2019
Regional program is key to helping rural communities
by Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Congresswoman Annie Kuster
The Northern Border Regional Commission is an important partnership between New Hampshire and the federal government. The NBRC provides opportunities to Granite State startups, projects and programs, helping economically distressed areas of New Hampshire that otherwise wouldn't have access to the investments they need. That's why we've made it a top priority in Congress to ensure the NBRC is funded, and most recently, to expand its reach to include Cheshire County. In legislation recently signe… Continue Reading
March 09, 2019
Shaheen hosts roundtable on prescription drug prices
by Glynis Hart
LEBANON - Sen. Jeanne Shaheen sat down with hospital administrators, clinicians and people in the front lines of medical care to discuss what can be done about the high cost of prescription drugs. The roundtable took place Friday afternoon at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, with health care stakeholders from Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Mascoma Community Health Center and the New Hampshire Hospital Association. Shaheen invited those assembled to tell her what they're … Continue Reading
March 03, 2019
Shaheen, Hassan co-sponsor PFAS bill
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH -- U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is co-sponsoring a bill that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to declare PFAS chemicals hazardous substances that are eligible for federal cleanup funds. The lead sponsor of the bill, which is called The PFAS Action Act, is U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware. They are joined by a group of bipartisan co-sponsors, including U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. The bill would require the EPA to act within one year of its passage and declare PFAS ch… Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Shaheen bill would slap fees on e-cigarette makers
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has introduced a bill that would place a fee on e-cigarette manufacturers to help finance the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to regulate the products that are especially popular with underage users. The bill calls for the FDA to collect fees from fiscal year 2020 of $150 million, or 2 percent of total aggregate manufacturer sales of e-cigarettes sold in the United States the previous year. Currently, there are no user fee… Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
NH opioid recovery center testifies on importance of federal funding
by Monica Hernandez
WASHINGTON - Federal grants are making a major impact in the state of addiction, according to the executive director of a lakes region recovery center who testified in Washington, D.C. Thursday. Daisy Pierce, Ph.D, director of Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee how millions of federal dollars are changing Granite Stater's lives. Advertisement "We map out recovery, the whole life process, not just abstinence from alcohol and other drugs but everythi… Continue Reading
February 22, 2019
USS Thresher memorial approval celebrated
by Hadley Barndollar
KITTERY, Maine -- On April 10, 1963, 16-year-old Carol Norton was playing basketball with her brother and neighbors when their mother approached the group slowly from afar, shaking and sobbing. "What Mama was to reveal to us was the unthinkable," Norton said Friday, while speaking at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's museum. Her father, civilian shipyard inspector Fred Philip Abrams and 128 other men were missing. Nuclear attack submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593), while conducting deep dive exercises … Continue Reading
February 22, 2019
Sen. Shaheen targets ‘junk’ health plans
by Alex LaCasse
EXETER -- U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is pushing legislation to protect people from being led into purchasing what she calls "junk" health-care plans. Shaheen, D-N.H., held a meeting with a group of public health officials at Exeter Hospital Friday to discuss the state of health care delivery, especially to more vulnerable populations. The senator said the Protect Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act is intended to block the Trump administration from using federal tax credits to promote enr… Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Shaheen bill: Age 50-plus could buy into Medicare
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan have introduced a bill to give people between the ages of 50 and 64 the option of buying into Medicare. The senators, both Democrats, said in a statement Thursday that millions of Americans who are approaching retirement or are being forced to retire early due to layoffs or mandatory retirement face increasing health care needs and rising costs. They say allowing more people to buy into Medicare ha… Continue Reading
