In The News
Ideas about energy power discussion
by Tim Camarato
HANOVER - Policymakers looking to combat climate change should turn their attention to "smaller" solutions that, when scaled up, could make a big difference in lowering our reliance on fossil fuels, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said Monday. When people think of energy, she said, minds often turn to big public works efforts, such as hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants and off-shore wind farms. "But a bunch of what we can do both at home and overseas is really smaller initiatives," the… Continue Reading
May 04, 2021
Water treatment facility aimed at cleaning up PFAS opens at Pease
by Jennifer Crompton
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - A new water treatment facility has opened at Pease International Tradeport, the culmination of a seven-year effort to deal with contaminants in the drinking water. It was seven years ago this month that tests confirmed elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the water. The chemicals were traced to firefighting foam used when the facility was an airbase. "It's nice to be getting on the other side of it where we can say the Air Force has invested now $65 mil… Continue Reading
May 04, 2021
Shaheen hears of Compass House’s success, even in the midst of COVID
by Michael Mortensen
LACONIA - COVID has been a tough time, even for those in good circumstances. For the women who live at Compass House, their circumstances were anything but good. But even in the midst of the pandemic this renovated historic house a block from Lakeport Square - which opened just one month before COVID hit - has been working to provide hope and support for women who are recovering from addiction. Those involved in the transitional support programs - program directors, rehabilitation coac… Continue Reading
April 30, 2021
Shaheen PFAS amendment included in national water infrastructure bill
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH - The Senate overwhelmingly passed a national drinking water infrastructure bill Thursday, which included a PFAS-related amendment drafted by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. The Senate voted 89-2 to pass the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021, which will now move to the U.S. House of Representatives for approval. The comprehensive drinking water and wastewater infrastructure package will increase economic growth, enhance the health and well-being of American families… Continue Reading
April 29, 2021
Senate Passes Water Infrastructure Bill With Bipartisan Backing
by Kellie Lunney
The Senate passed a bipartisan drinking water and wastewater infrastructure bill that would authorize $35 billion for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects, one component of the larger infrastructure effort being negotiated by lawmakers. "The bill represents the solid work that comes out of good-faith negotiations," said Environment and Public Works ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). "I hope that as we move forward on other infrastructure packages, we remember this m… Continue Reading
April 29, 2021
Shaheen legislation targets sexual harassment in STEM workforce
by Jeff Feingold
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, has joined her colleagues in taking steps to combat sexual harassment in the STEM fields and the federal scientific workforce. Together with U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., Shaheen has introduced the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act. The bill would investigate factors contributing to sexual harassment in STEM, examine the impacts of harassment and policies to reduce it and spur interagency efforts to stop this harassment… Continue Reading
April 26, 2021
Commerce secretary touts help coming for tourism industry in relief act
by Adam Sexton
HAMPTON, N.H. - On a brisk day at the beach, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen met in Hampton with business owners and workers who have borne the economic brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, said the stories she heard are all too familiar. "I come from a coastal state, a small New England state, and I feel their pain," she said. "We have a lot of communities in Rhode Island just like this that have struggled." Raimondo wa… Continue Reading
April 19, 2021
Shaheen, other ex-governors, mayors meet with Biden
by Kevin Landrigan
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden was open to breaking up his massive infrastructure bill into smaller pieces and finding alternatives to raising corporate income tax rates to pay for it, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said Monday. Shaheen was part of a 10-person, bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers that met with Biden for 90 minutes in the Oval Office, all of them former governors or mayors before being elected to the U.S. Senate or House brought them to Washington. The Senate in… Continue Reading
April 18, 2021
COVID Worsens Youth Mental Health Struggles
by Paul Hayes
New Hampshire has seen increased demand for childhood mental health services during the pandemic. Ken Norton, executive director of the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said each day an average of 16 school-age children wait in New Hampshire emergency rooms seeking hospitalization for mental health crises. It reflects a steady increase from 7-per-day when COVID-19 began and 10-per-day in September. On Valentine's Day, a record 51 children, ages 18-and-unde… Continue Reading
April 14, 2021
MHT airport receives $230K in federal funding for taxiway projects
by Andrew Sylvia
WASHINGTON, D.C. - New Hampshire's Congressional delegation on April 14 announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded grant funding to support infrastructure, operations and safety at several airports in New Hampshire, including Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT). MHT received $230,000 to reconfigure Taxiway H and rehabilitate Taxiway A, two taxiways that are also receiving community improvement funding as well. MHT Director Ted Kitchens thanked the delegation for thei… Continue Reading
April 14, 2021
Lebanon airport gets $1.25 million for upgrades
by Staff
WEST LEBANON - Lebanon Municipal Airport will receive $1.25 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for upgrades at the West Lebanon facility, New Hampshire's congressional delegation announced Wednesday. The money, part of the FAA's airport improvement program, will help build a runway safety area and rehabilitate the terminal building's footprint, lighting and electrical systems. Funds also will go to improvements to an on-site sand and chemical storage building, better protecting i… Continue Reading
April 11, 2021
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: What does the American Rescue Plan mean for New Hampshire?
by Jeanne Shaheen
For more than a year, Granite Staters and Americans across the country have endured the greatest health and economic crisis of our generation. No one has been spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, from those who fell ill or were tragically taken by the virus, to those who lost their jobs or businesses, and families who are still struggling to pay the bills. Our health care providers have been overwhelmed and financially stretched to the breaking point at a time when we need them the most, and our ci… Continue Reading
April 06, 2021
National and economic security: Maine, NH delegations tout shipyard as Navy head visits
by Steven Porter
KITTERY, Maine - The six lawmakers who represent southern Maine and the Seacoast of New Hampshire in Congress voiced commitments Tuesday to advocate for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. In addition to providing an economic engine for the area, the shipyard is a vital piece of defense infrastructure that deserves continued investment, they said, as the administration of President Joe Biden settles in. "We all understand how important the shipyard is both to our national security and to the Seacoa… Continue Reading
April 06, 2021
Shaheen visits Berlin, reports on American Rescue Plan benefits
by Barbara Tetreault
BERLIN -U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) met with Tri-County Community Action Program officials and Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier Thursday to describe how the newly passed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan can help address some of the hardships caused by the year-long pandemic. "The Tri-County CAP has played a crucial role in delivering relief to those who need it most during this crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, staff at the agency have worked around the clock to help North Count… Continue Reading
March 31, 2021
NH Getting Nearly $30.7M in Additional Federal Vaccine Aid
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire is getting nearly $30.7 million in additional federal money to support COVID-19 vaccines to correct a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formula that previously shortchanged small states, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan said Tuesday. The money is coming from the December federal aid package, as well as the latest one, known as the American Rescue Plan. The amount includes an installment Tuesday of more than $12.7 million through th… Continue Reading
March 31, 2021
Paycheck Protection Program deadline moved to May 31
by Bob Sanders
There was a rush of applications by New Hampshire small businesses for Paycheck Protection Program loans in the week before the planned March 31 deadline. But it turns out that deadline was extended yesterday for two months. President Biden on Tuesday signed a bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, to extend the PPP deadline to May 31, after it passed the Senate on a 97-2 vote last week. The House had already passed the bill the week before by a 415-3 margin. But New Hampshire b… Continue Reading
March 29, 2021
Shaheen touts COVID relief funds for Dover, Portsmouth, Rochester, Somersworth
by Megan Fernandes
DOVER - Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, appeared Monday with four Seacoast mayors at City Hall to discuss how the American Rescue Plan will provide New Hampshire with more than $3 billion in combined financial relief for residents and local governments. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which was recently passed into law, supplies New Hampshire more than $1.5 billion in funding through state and local aid and just under $1.5 billion in stimulus payments that nearly 600,000 Granite Staters h… Continue Reading
March 26, 2021
Shaheen Supports Funding Increase to Fight Opioid Epidemic
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has helped introduce a bill that would increase funding to fight the opioid epidemic, which has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill increases funding authorization levels and sets out new policy reforms in the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act, which was enacted in 2016. Policy changes include new research into non-opioid pain management alternatives and into long-term treatment outcomes to sustain r… Continue Reading
March 25, 2021
Senate extends pandemic assistance for small businesses for 2 months
by Carmen Reinicke
The Senate on Thursday voted to extend the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program just a week before it was slated to expire. Senators voted 92 to 7 to pass the PPP Extension Act of 2021, which extends the program to May 31 instead of the current March 31 deadline and gives the SBA another 30 days to process loans. Next, the bill will be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The White House has indicated its support for extending the program to support small… Continue Reading
March 25, 2021
Local health centers to receive COVID relief money
by Michael Mortensen
LACONIA - Two community health centers that serve central New Hampshire have been awarded a total of nearly $3.5 million from the latest COVID relief package. HealthFirst Family Health Care, which has facilities in Laconia, Franklin, and Tilton, will receive $1,306,625 from the American Rescue Plan. Mid-State Health Center, based in Plymouth, will get $2,173,250, according to an announcement Thursday from the state congressional delegation. The money will help the centers provide great… Continue Reading
